


Endstuck

by Lopadopalis



Category: Hiveswap, Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: Angst, Attempt at Humor, C-Sec, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Chestburster, Clones, Drug Use, Friends to Lovers, Fucked Up, How Do I Tag, Human/Troll Hybrids, Implied Relationships, Literary References & Allusions, Major Character Injury, Multi, Music, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Potentially Complex Family Trees, Quadrant Vacillation, Slow To Update, The Homestuck Epilogues, What Have I Done, lots of those
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2020-12-23 17:27:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 19,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21085094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lopadopalis/pseuds/Lopadopalis
Summary: Earth and Alternia collided On April 13 2009, 10 years ago. The trolls were evacuated from their dying planet and moved to Earth, the habitable zone shrinking. When it stopped, society got back on its feet, but it would never be the same again.It all begins on August 2019. That's when the pieces of a bigger puzzle fall into place and the pawns make their first moves.*CURRENTLY UNDERGOING REWRITES, SO IF YOU BOOKMARKED IT, JUST KNOW THAT*





	1. Then and Now

**Author's Note:**

> This is the start of my masterpiece (Is that good or bad that my magnum opus [at least for now] is fan-fiction). I have been writing this since March 2019 at last check and have 340 or so pages of it written in google docs but I have yet to get an account until recently and I'm a sissy.
> 
> This thing will be packed with references, music, and meta moments, plus references to canonical events.

On the 13th of April 2009, the planets of Earth and Alternia collided. The populations of all of them were tossed into the ruins that remained of Earth. The survivors scattered and scavenged for resources. Eventually, they grouped up, but had many disagreements. So they fought. They then split into four 'kingdoms'. Stuck in a mutual stalemate.

The Kingdom of Darkness and Unknown reigned over the Lands of Frost and Frogs, Rays and Frogs, Brains and Fire, Pyramids and Neon, and Caves and Silence.

The Kingdom of Futures and Storms ruled the Land of Heat and Clockwork, Quartz and Melody, Colours and Mayhem, Thought and Flow, Wind and Shade, and Sand and Zephyr.

The Kingdom of Peace and Justice had free reign over the Lands of Mounds and Xenon, Wrath and Angels, Crypts and Helium, Dew and Glass, Light and Rain, and Maps and Treasure.

The Kingdom of Chaos and Emotion ‘governed’ the Lands of Tombs and Krypton, Little Cubes and Tea, Tents and Mirth, and Pulse and Haze.

Current Important Individuals’ Ages Status

Generation 1  
The Dolorosa (76), Porrim (75), Condesce (71), Signless (69), Meulin (68), Disciple (68), Dualscar (68), Highblood (67), Kurloz (65), Joel (63), Roxanne (63), Rachael (63), “Dirk” (63), Darkleer (59)

Generation 2  
Marvus (51), Trizza (49), Psiioniic (48), Mindfang (48), Chahut (47), Azdaja (46), Galekh (45), Cronus (44), Meenah (44), Rufioh (43), Summoner (43), Nikhee (42), Lanque (41), Zebruh (39), Ardata (38), Bronya (37), Remele (37), Nektan (37), John (36), Jade (36), Joey (36), Jude (36), Mierfa (36), Rose (35), David (35), Jane (35), Roxy (35), Kanaya (35), Cirava (35), Konyyl (35), Tyzias (35), Stelsa (35), Elwurd (35), Dave (34), Dirk (34), Jake (34), Karkat (34), Kankri (34), Equius (34), Boldir (34), Tagora (34), Redglare (33), Zebede (33), Lynera (33), Wanshi (33), Tegiri (33), Horuss (32), Marsti (32), Charun (32), Terezi (31), Latula (31), Skylla (31), Daraya (31), Amisia (31), Aradia (30), Damara (30), Handmaid (30), Nepeta (30), Calliope (30), Caliborn (30), Chixie (29), Polypa (29), Mallek (29)

Generation 3  
Dammek (26), Sollux (25), Mituna (25), Fozzer (24), Aranea (23), Diemen (23), Folykl (23), Kuprum (23), Vriska (22), Gamzee (22), Vikare (22), Barzum (22), Baizli (22), Tavros (20), Xefros (20), Eridan (19), Feferi (19), Tirona (19), Karako (19)


	2. Calliope's Search

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calliope searches for an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh! The words! They're so... CLOSE!

**ACT 1******

August 3 2019. Calliope trudged through the sandy desert, goggles and a scarf over her mouth protecting her from the current raging storm as she treks across the landscape of the Land of Pyramids and Neon. Far above, lightning and thunder clash, and gasses mingle in the sky, creating patterns beautiful and deadly alike. Currently, Calliope is pressing against a sandstorm, which have become increasingly frequent due to proximity to the Land of Wind and Shade. Smoke billows across the horizon behind her due to the wind blowing the fires of the Land of Brains and Fire across the sky, choking that region in smoke and soot, which adds one more complication that the cherub must avoid.

She ducks inside a nearby pyramid, and after entering an area with minimal interference from the storm, she lays out her map of the area. Just a few hundred meters ahead is Roxy’s house, and a few kilometres beyond that is the entrance to the Land of Caves and Silence, where the mythical figure known as The Guardian, who possesses great knowledge, dwells. Calliope has been searching for her friend Roxy ever since she ran off. She’s heard rumours and hints, but the only way to know where the rogue went is to get information from one rumoured to see all. Many have tried and failed to find The Guardian, but she knows that she will succeed.

Ducking out of the pyramid after a short while of strategic analysis and the storm dying down, Calliope sets out to Roxy’s house. The walk takes a few minutes, and she soon arrives. No one is here, of course. Why would anyone be here? Except for a single random troll of course. Maroon pants, grey shirt, blue painted hair, one long pointed horn and a second short one, practically a stub, the whole works. Callie knows a junker when she sees one.

Calliope: hey!  
Troll: whA-!?  
The troll turns from where he’s examining some random bits and bobs as he stands in a hole in the wall of the house.  
Calliope: what are yoU doing?  
Troll: i, um, uh-  
The troll glances around frantically, grabs a bag on the ground next to him, rifles through it, and pulls out a pump action shotgun.  
Troll: hA! AvAst ye!  
The troll pulls the trigger, and the gun makes a sputtering noise, before a couple sparks jump out and the gun makes a sound like a cough, before hissing as smoke emanates near the handle.  
Troll: crAp. dAmn sAnd.  
Calliope: sir, kindly stop pillaging that hoUse.  
Troll: yeAh right. whAt cAn you do to me?  
Calliope pulls out her pistol, untouched by sand due to the protective aura her presence provides it. She points it at the junker.  
Troll: jeez! ok, lAdy, don’t hAve to push me.  
The troll hops down from his elevation and backs up from the house.  
Troll: there. hAppy now?  
Calliope: maybe. What’s yoUr name?  
The troll seems to think to himself for a moment, and seems to be trying to remember his name.  
Troll: i’m, uh, cAldos. cAldos cutord.  
Calliope: caldos, hUh? why are yoU scavenging here of all places?  
Caldos: becAuse, uh, i was in the lAnd of cAves And silence, And it creeped me out. i Also met this creepy dog-eAred lAdy. she kept going on About ‘the muse’. ridiculous.  
Calliope: maybe not entirely. coUld yoU lead me to the lady?  
Caldos laughs nervously and wrings his hands together.  
Caldos: i, uh, kindA, forgot, where the strAnge womAn wAs, so, uh, sorry.  
He chuckles even more nervously.  
Caldos: yeAh, hA, hA, uh. hey, could you pleAse put down thAt soundstick?  
Calliope looks at the pistol.  
Calliope: yoU mean this gUn?  
Caldos: yeAh, hA, hA, i meAn gUn.  
Caldos: i meAn gun! not gUn, stupid cAldos, stupid, stupid…

Calliope brings down the pistol and sighs. As Caldos prances around yell-whispering about his own stupidity, Calliope realises that she doesn’t know where to find The Guardian. And for that matter, that The Guardian was a dog eared lady.  
Calliope: do yoU remember anything from the caves?  
Caldos: OH YEaH, YOU JUST GOT TO GO FIND THaT SMaLL PaSSaGE THaT CaN BaRELY FIT a PERSON IN IT, FOLLOW THE STaIRS, aND THEN PaSS SOME STRaNGE TWISTY TUNNELS. FUNNY, FUNNY.  
Calliope: did yoU jUst change yoUr speaking qUirk...?  
Caldos: oh, no. don’t think so.  
Caldos: CaLDOS JUST GETS YELLY WHEN HE DOES STUPID THINGS. BaD, BaD, BaD!  
Calliope: ok, that’s it, jUst show me the way yoUrself, that way yoU stop emptying my friend’s hoUse, and now yoU can go first in case there are any deadly traps.  
A little while later, Calliope and Caldos have entered the caves, and entered the small passage which can barely fit either of them in it alone, never mind at once. They circle around various twisty tunnels that follow the passage, and arrive at a large iron door.  
Calliope: caldos, yoU didn’t say anything aboUt a door.  
Caldos: oh, yeAh, the door. i think i forgot the door. the code is 7 - 5 - C.  
Calliope: caldos, it’s locked. it doesn’t have a code. do yoU know how to get past?  
Caldos thinks to himself, twiddles his thumbs, then looks into Calliope’s eyes.  
Caldos: yes.  
Caldos: stAnd bAck.

Calliope stands back as Caldos raises his arms, cracks his knuckles, then runs full tilt towards the door screaming. He slams his head against the door repeatedly, blue blood spraying everywhere, painting the metal.  
Caldos: stupid door!  
Caldos: breAk, you stupid door!  
Caldos: breAk!  
Caldos: breAk AlreAdy!  
Caldos: grAAAA!  
Caldos: grAAAA!  
Calliope grabs the troll and pulls him back from the door before he explodes his skull. The only effect on the door is giving it a large blue spot. Caldos looks very pale, and his forehead is bloody and slick.  
Calliope: good gracioUs, love! what’re yoU slamming yoUr head for?  
Caldos: hAve to breAk door!  
Calliope: yoU won’t get anywhere using yoUr face as a ram!  
Caldos: right. cAldos wrong.  
Calliope: stay here, and don’t do anything stUpid.  
Caldos nods like an obedient puppy dog would, then abruptly falls on his face.  
Calliope: caldos!?  
Caldos: *groan*  
Calliope fumbles about in her bag. She’s got some bandages or something somewhere. Though she’s not inclined to, she doesn’t want him to bleed to death while she stands there, so she prepares to wrap his head so he doesn’t die.  
Caldos: i feel strAnge.  
Calliope: hold on caldos.  
Caldos: yesssss mA’Am.  
Calliope wraps his head and spends a while applying pressure so that he doesn’t lose any more blood than he’s already lost. After a while she stops.  
Calliope: yoU alright caldos?  
Calliope: caldos?  
Caldos: zzzzz

Calliope sighs, and lays down the troll. He’s just like everyone else in this world. Alone, unwanted, and insane. Calliope remembers a time before the fighting, when some people were nicer. When she was nicer. Now she doesn’t hesitate to fight people that kill for the sake of killing, but does help those that kill for the sake of living for five more minutes. She spends some time looking for a way into the door. She eventually finds a small iron key, buried under rubble in the corner of the cavern. She opens the door, and as she goes to grab Caldos, she notices him sitting upright, staring intently.  
Caldos: i just hAd A thought.  
Calliope: ok. what is it?  
Caldos: ...whAt does A kernelsprite tAste like?  
Calliope rolls her eyes. Kernelsprites are myths. Caldos falls over again.  
Caldos: zzzzz  
She picks up the troll and carries him on her back as she steps into the chamber beyond the door. She walks down a long dark tunnel with the only light source a torch, passes a waterfall or two along the cave’s blue walls, spots a large dirty gold coloured giant in the distance, and finally ends up in a large room with a single lake.  
Caldos: by the wAy, i never Asked your nAme.  
Calliope: jUst call me callie.  
Caldos: cAllie? fAncy.  
Caldos: hey, listen cAllie. reAlly don’t feel well. could we just… stop… for…  
Calliope: Caldos?  
Caldos: sorry, i don’t think i cAn mAke it…  
Calliope: we can rest for a moment.  
Caldos: no, no, i need…  
Calliope feels for his heartbeat. Caldos Cutord is very dead. Blood loss. Calliope sighs, lays him flat on the ground. Poor kid. She then leaves him behind and begins to walk the length of the lake, hoping that she’ll find The Guardian.

The Guardian: Hello?  
Calliope: hello?  
Calliope glances around, then she sees her. A woman with long black hair, dog ears, glasses, striped pants, sparkly red shoes, and a black dress with the iconic symbol of space on the centre of her chest.  
The Guardian: Oh! I wasn’t expecting visitors. Then again, I never am.  
Calliope: are yoU... the gUardian?  
The Guardian smiles.  
The Guardian: You could say that. My real name’s Jade. Jade Harley.  
Jade extends a hand. Calliope shakes it.  
Calliope: callie. i’ve heard that yoU have many powers, inclUding seeing the locations of people and places.  
Jade: Yes, I do. I have many powers. By definition, I’ve got enough power to single handedly defend this world, but… I don’t like to talk about that. Anyway, yes, I can see where people are. Why do you want to know? Are you…  
Jade pauses a moment to lick her lips. Her dog ears perk up, and she snarls a little.  
Jade: Hunting someone?  
Calliope: yes and no. I'm looking for a roxy lalonde.  
Jade: Roxy? Hmm… Oh yeah, I know. She’s somewhere in the Land of Wind and Shade.  
Calliope: wait, really? is that all? do i have to give anything in retUrn?  
Jade: Nope! Nothing at all!  
Jade: … Except your soul.  
Calliope: …  
Jade: I’m just kidding. You don’t need to pay anything.  
Calliope: oh! thank goodness. don’t want to give anything Up just yet. Hey, jUst oUt of cUriosity, yoU look god tier. why are yoU living way UndergroUnd instead of Up there, helping yoUr kingdom win the war?  
Jade: First, it’s technically dog tier, hehe, puns. Second… I’m in exile. Self imposed.  
Calliope: why?

Jade pauses to suck in a breath.  
Jade: I don’t like to talk about it.  
Calliope: oh! I’m sorry. yoU don’t have to talk about it love if yoU don’t want to.  
Jade: No, it’s okay. I’ve never actually told anybody, but I should probably get this off my chest.  
Jade: A long time ago, earth was unprotected from exterior threats. No one was there to protect it. Life on earth died out several times, with one of the biggest having a giant meteor smash into the side of the earth, wiping out all the dinosaurs.  
Jade: At some point during the 1500s, something called the Green Sun contacted humanity and bestowed upon one of them the powers of a first guardian.  
Jade: Lineages go way back, and guardians vary. Some give the powers to their children, some to their siblings, some to people and animals of importance in their life. At some point, I became the first guardian.  
Jade: But I made a mistake. I went to the Green Sun in the depths of Paradox Space to discover more about it, something that no other first guardian had done. As fate would have it, upon that day, the Earth and Alternia collided.  
Jade: …  
Jade: And I heard the screams from hundreds of light years away.  
Jade: …  
Jade: Like a vengeful god angry at me for letting their subjects be destroyed, the Green Sun revoked my powers and left me to die in space, where I would run out of air.  
Jade: But I knew that I had about 15 seconds of oxygen left, and I used my regular magic to teleport myself back to Earth.  
Jade: It was in ruins. It had also merged with Alternia, and the populace were beginning to disagree. Distraught, I spent months trying to figure out how to destroy the Green Sun. I didn’t think about how I would lose my first guardian powers. I was just so angry.  
Jade: I ended up using two universes as fuel for a weapon that could destroy the Green Sun.  
Jade: … two whole innocent universes.  
Jade: What did they ever do to me? Nothing.  
Jade: It didn’t matter anyway, because the weapon’s timing screwed up and I shot the blast into the 1500s.  
Jade: …  
Jade: I created the Green Sun.  
Jade: …  
Jade: Since I was then responsible for the deaths of a few quadrillion people, I elected to exile myself to these caves and live one day for every person I had killed.  
Calliope: …  
Calliope: may god help yoU, love.  
Calliope: how many days do yoU have left?  
Jade: 1 quadrillion, 978 trillion, 998 million, 953 thousand, 451 days left. I have about 5 billion, 421 million, 914 thousand, 940 years left.  
Jade: And I won’t leave this cave before the end of that time period or interfere in any way. Only watch. This is my repentance for my sins.  
Calliope: … good god.  
Jade: …  
Jade: Like I said, Roxy’s in the Land of Wind and Shade. Please go.  
Calliope: …  
Jade: Please, Calliope. Go.  
Calliope: … alright.  
With that, Calliope turned and walked out of the cave, leaving Jade, Caldos, and the Land of Caves and Silence behind, heading for the Land of Wind and Shade, and her friend Roxy Lalonde. As for Jade, she simply curled up and fell asleep in the corner, her muffled crying faintly echoing in the silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RIP Caldos. When I first wrote this I fell in love with him and then I killed him. *Shrugs absentmindedly*


	3. Roses are Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose checkup. Or something.

ACT 1

Drip, drip  
The girl cradled her broken and shredded left arm, as she limped through the forest on her right leg, dripping blood everywhere. She had come from the forest of mounds, then through the forest of cold, and now she has arrived at a desert clearing. She doesn’t know where she’s going. Her orange and yellow dress is torn and ragged, and she is worse for wear on the inside.  
Drip, drip, drip  
Up ahead is a house. A tall pole with a bulb on top and a smaller pole extending from the side of the pole with a bulb of its own ‘on top’. Colourful banners attached to it, orange, teal, red, blue, pink and neon green, red, and yellow. All around her, shafts of light go up and down. She can’t tell whether she is seeing things or if the things are actually there.  
Drip, drip drip drip crunch  
The girl collapses onto the grass, having lost three or four pints of blood. No she thinks. This is not how I die. And yet, the girl, Rose Lalonde, is malnourished, low on blood, and grievously injured, and she is going to die.  
Crunch  
Crunch crunch crunch  
Footsteps. Someone is coming. Rose can’t see who, her vision clouded. She closes her eyes and waits for something to happen.  
Kanaya: Hello?  
Kanaya walks to the strange girl who has collapsed in her yard. The girl groans, her blood staining the green grass red. Another human. Kanaya’s mother, Porrim, doesn’t like humans. Kanaya is tolerant of them. She leans down and pokes her. The girl groans again. Kanaya grabs the girl and pulls her towards her hive. Blonde haired, covered in injuries. The girl’s eyes snap open and she stares the troll in the eyes.  
Rose: Please, I need your help.  
She coughs some blood and grips at the troll’s arm.  
Rose: Please, I need to hide. They - they’re trying to find me…  
Kanaya scans the tree line.  
Kanaya: There’s No One There.  
Rose: Please… Please you have to help me… I’m losing blood, they’re trying to get me, make me like them again, and I don’t… want… to…  
The girl collapses in Kanaya’s arms. She can hear a whispering in the distance in a language she doesn’t understand, but she can tell is of something not of this world. She drags the girl into the building, closes the door, and takes her upstairs. Porrim isn’t here right now. She’s off on more errands, which she’s out on 90% of the time. Kanaya lays the girl on a table, and spends time patching up her wounds. She doesn’t know what to do for her broken bones, but she does what she can. She also gives in to her vampiric tendencies once or twice and tries a little of the girl’s blood. After it’s out, of course. It’s tasty. Except some of it. That tastes real bad.

After a little while of stitching up the girl to the best of her ability, Kanaya sits against her bookshelf next to her chainsaw. She waits a little while, and then the girl gets up.  
Rose: Wha-?  
Kanaya: Ok. Who Are You And What Are You Doing Here?  
Rose: I’m Rose, Rose Lalonde. I’ve spent the last few months completely and utterly controlled by the Horrorterrors from beyond the Furthest Ring.  
Kanaya: That Answers One Question. What About The Second One?  
Rose: Why would you care so much?  
Kanaya: Because I Literally Just Saved You From Bleeding To Death, And I Want To Know Why.  
Rose: Ok. So I was Grimdark mode for months, and it’s really messed me the fuck up. I don’t know what the hell happened while I was gone, and I was beginning to enjoy having the company of eldritch gods from beyond reality. So I pushed to break free of their influence. I also ended up falling off a cliff at some point, broke my arm and leg, shredded my arm, and kept running. Or limping, I guess. I eventually ended up here.  
Kanaya: Huh. Maybe You Should Check If That Arm Is Infected.  
Rose: Huh? Oh shit, you’re right. Crap, crap, crap. Aw hell.  
Although the two could see no obvious signs of infection there, Rose remains on edge.  
Rose: Who are you anyway?  
Kanaya: Kanaya Maryam. You Don’t Need To Know Who I Am Beyond That.  
Rose: Okay.  
Kanaya: How’d You Get ‘Grimdark Mode’ For Months Anyway?  
Rose: Oh, yeah. My sister stole a bunch of Horrorterror power, then redistributed it to me.  
Kanaya: ... What Was Her Name?  
Rose: Roxy.  
Kanaya: You Have Got To Be Kidding Me.  
Rose: What?  
Kanaya: Your Sister Stopped By My Hive Literally A Few Days Back.  
Rose: Are you fucking kidding me!? Which way did she go?  
Kanaya: She Went To The South, Towards The Land Of Wind And Shade.  
Rose: Ok. Thanks. Now I have to go before my potential blood poisoning and/or horrorterrors catch up with me.  
Rose begins down the stairs, but feels remarkably woozy and has to brace herself against the wall of the stairwell as not to fall over.  
Kanaya: Hey, Are you-  
Rose: I’M FINE!  
Rose stumbles her way to the bottom of the stairs, opens the door, and falls over in a fit of dizziness onto the ground.  
Rose: Who am I kidding. I’m missing about a third of my blood. I need more or I’m going to die on the goddamn road. Do you know where I can find more blood?  
Kanaya: …  
Rose: Wait. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever asked. Don’t answer that. I think my lack of fluids is making me lose it.  
Rose then crawls back inside the hive and thinks about what she’ll do next.  
Rose: Damnit. Bitch will be gone by the time I get better, assuming I will get better. Do you, uh, have like a bed or something I can sleep on? No, wait, trolls don’t do beds.  
Kanaya: Well, I Could Grab Something…  
Rose: Great, thanks. I’m going to sit with my head out the window so if I vomit I don’t ruin your beautiful room.  
Kanaya: Also, My Mom Porrim May Be Back Any Time Now. She Doesn’t Like Humans, And Will Probably Kill You, Then Drink Your Blood.  
Rose: So she’s a vampire.  
Kanaya: Technically, A Rainbow Drinker, But, Yes.  
Rose: Which makes you a vampirainbowdrinker.  
Kanaya: Yes.  
Rose: I feel like there’s a joke related to me losing blood and your family drinking it but I can’t see it, probably because you can’t see jokes, and my vision is clouding up again.  
Rose collapses again. Kanaya props her up and takes a look at the distant island. The Forge. She’s got a small outpost like setup at the edge of the Volcano. She grabs Rose, and hoists her over her shoulders, and carries her. She walks across the bridge to the island over the ocean, hikes across the volcanic plateau, and drops Rose at the outpost. Kanaya wonders why she’s helping out a human when she knows that her mother won’t approve of it. Maybe it's because she likes to help people. Or maybe just her sexuality kicking in. Regardless, Rose is safe, for now. For now, nothing and no one can get her. So it seems.  
Rose: What’s life out here like for you anyway?  
Kanaya: Well, I Get Occasional Zombie Attacks. Zombies Tend To Occasionally Show Up At Dusk.  
Rose: What, like right now?  
Kanaya laughs.  
Kanaya: Maybe.  
Kanaya: What’s Life Like For You? Or Was Like, I Suppose.  
Rose: Life for me is… orderly. A little too orderly, if you ask me. I don’t know what it’s like anymore, because a little while back my sister Roxy defected to your side and we had some fights. She tested out some new abilities that she took and pumped me full of horrorterror magic. I went grimdark and ran off. Then I broke free, and I sort of told you the rest of the story.  
Kanaya: Yeah, You Ran Around A Bit, Then Arrived At My Place, And We Both Know How That Went Down. You Fell Unconscious Once Or Twice.  
Rose: Something strange I noticed was, according to older stories and info, trolls don’t biologically reproduce, and yet you’ve got a mom. Some trolls have siblings and family trees. What the hell is up with that?  
Kanaya: A While Back, Some People Tried A Thing Where They Would Isolate The Mother Grub’s Mix For Individual Families.  
Rose: Heh. Yeah. Ok. I think I really should rest.  
Rose lays down against some cloth and fabric on a chair.  
Rose: Oh, and by the way, I never said, thank you.  
Kanaya smiles, and Rose falls asleep. Kanaya sits in a chair across from her and falls asleep as well. The night is quiet and uninterrupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This contains my very first reference in the whole story, and may also be what got me to start adding scenes and homages from things I liked and making story arcs out of them.


	4. Doom of Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sollux and Mituna status.

ACT 1

Far to the west, a man and his disciple trudge through the mass slough of bodies and fire, bodies in piles so high and so large that they resemble brains. This is the Land of Brains and Fire, where all the bodies of the dead were deposited after the collision of Earth and Alternia. Now, two men walk the bloody fields to try and reboot Mituna’s psionics.

Mituna: WHY 4R3 W3 D0ING 7HI5 4G41N?

Sollux: Becau2e iif you truly want to 2ee the future Miituna you need two be iin touch with the 2piiriit2 of the dead.

Mituna rolls his eyes at Sollux.

Mituna: 7H47 50UND5 L1K3 5UCH MUM8O JUM80.

Sollux: Well it’2  **not** mumbo jumbo. Iit’2 magiic. Here. Ii’ll try somethiing. Ii’ll try and hiit you and you ju2t 2ee what Ii’ll do and try and dodge iit.

Mituna: 50UND5 L1K3 4N 3XCU53 T0 8347 M3 UP.

Sollux: Nope. That’2 just an added bonu2. Ii’ll giive you a miinute to think.

Sollux stands to the side. Mituna looks through the possibilities. As the Heir of Doom, he is capable of becoming doom, and changing doom. In this case, the doom is him getting hit in the face by his older brother. He examines the possibilities. Sollux will swing an uppercut at Mituna’s right, and then slam him into the ground. That’s all he needs. Sollux swings the uppercut, and Mituna catches it mid swing with his hand.

Sollux: Good!

Then Sollux punched Mituna in the face from his left side.

Mituna: 0W.

Sollux: You need to focu2 on the future of outcome2 as well a2 the future. That’2 why Ii 2ay good and not very good. Let’2 try somethiing biigger.

Sollux guides Mituna across the landscape and brings him to the mound of gore, a pile of corpses, in a pit at least a kilometre in diametre, which, despite its name, is remarkably gore-less. Sollux stops, and points at the mound.

Sollux: 2ee that?

Mituna: Y34H

Sollux: Tap iinto the 2oul2 there. 2ee what you 2ee.

Mituna: 1F Y0U 54Y 50.

Mituna extends his powers into the bodies, examining their dooms. And he sees. He sees their fates and would-be fates. Their entire lives up to that moment. Matilda Beck. Fleur Harmon. Ilgoz Restigox, Eric Davidson. So many souls. The screams. The pain. The torment.

Mituna: 17 HURT5…

Sollux: Iit2 2uppo2ed two. That’2 natural.

Mituna: 8U7 7H3R3 4R3 50 M4NY 0F TH3M… 4ND 1 C4N S33 4 WH173 P3D3574L

Sollux: A whiite pede2tal?

Mituna: TH3 50UL5 4R3 C4U710U5 0F 17. 4 5M4LL WH173 84LL R3575 0N 17.

Sollux: Miituna 2nap out of iit.

Mituna: TH3Y 5P34K 0F 4 L0RD WH0 C4N 83 3V3RYWH3R3 47 0NC3

Sollux: Miituna!

Mituna: 4ND H3’5 H3R3 0H G0D H3’5 H3R3 H3’5 4LW4Y5 4LR34DY H3R3

Sollux: Miituna, 2nap out of it!

Mituna: TH3Y 5P34K H15 N4M3 4L7H0UGH TH3Y F34R 17

Sollux: Miituna 2nap out of iit… ju2t leave there, you can do iit...

Mituna: 4ND H15 N4M3 15  L RD ENGLISH

Sollux: Oh my god…

Mitun a : H3’5 7R4CK1NG U5 V14 MY M1ND

M i tun a : 7H3N H3’LL R34LLY 83 H3R3

M i tu na : 1’V3 G07 70 570P H1M

M it u na : 3V3N TH0UGH 1’V3 N3V3R 541D 1T

M it u na: 1  L0 V 3 Y0 U 5 0L LU X

Sollux: No, don’t!

M ituna: G00 D 8Y3  8 R07 H 3R

Now, in the Land of Brains and Fire, Sollux Captor cradles his brother Mituna Captor, who lies broken and rambling in an insane state. As for Lord English, nobody is even sure if he ever existed, or if Mituna attempted to kill his own mind. At least for now, Lord English has never been seen since or before the event, and it is suspected that Mituna Captor gave his mind to stop him from interfering in the timeline. The Mystery of Lord English continues to baffle experts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mituna has to constantly reboot his psionics because he's an Heir of Doom and keeps getting really good with them and then getting brain-damaged over and over and over.


	5. Mercenaries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Equius and Horuss get a job.

ACT 1

Meanwhile, somewhere in a settlement in the Land of Frost and Frogs, a troll in full flight gear getup aims a sniper rifle at a human in the distance, holding his left metal arm and carrying a bag of stolen items. He radios Equius.

Horuss: 8=D < Target in sight.

Equius: D--> Roger. Take the shot.

Horuss: 8=D < Affirmative.

Horuss pulls the trigger on the rifle and a bullet blazes through the air, striking the target in the throat. He gives a yell, then collapses.

Horuss: 8=D < Target 455, Erem Ed Sukiv: terminated.

Equius: D--> Roger that. Let’s herd back.

Horuss: 8=D < You got it cousin.

Horuss sets down the road as Equius picks up the corpse and throws it deep into a rocky crevice. Then the two stop at the local inn, where they find their employer sitting in the corner.

Horuss: 8=D < Hey there friend.

Equius: D--> What’s the word?

The Employer: We Got Another Target. This One’s Also Human. A Woman. LORAF Spies Picked Up Her Presence. She’s From The Wrong Kingdom.

Equius: D--> Got a class? As we all know, if they’re important, they got a class.

The Employer: Seer Of Light. Rose Lalonde.

Horuss: 8=D < Other defences?

The Employer: Nope. Reward Is A Few Hundred Boondollars, 200 Grist, Random Kinds.

Equius: D--> What of our other rewards?

The Employer: 2 Robot Cores, 5 Blank Robot Bodies, And One Robot Horse.

Horuss: 8=D < Done.

Horuss and Equius suit up in combat gear, and set out for LORAF. The Employer simply smiles. The pieces are falling into place.


	6. Broken Souls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Major players' introductions

ACT 1

Nepeta runs across the Land of Little Cubes and Tea. Heading for her aunt Meulin, whose olive blood is trailing in the sugar once again.

Nepeta: :33 < Meulin!

Meulin: (=˙•˙=) < NOT NOW, NEPETA.

Nepeta: :33 < I got more soul pieces! They’re imp bits, but-

Meulin:  (=`ω´=) < THEY’LL DO. GIVE THEM HERE.

Nepeta has been gathering as many bits of souls as she can as replacements for Meulin’s broken one. Dirk Strider tore Meulin’s Soul into five pieces. Meulin and Nepeta have been scouring the Kingdom of Chaos and Emotion for them for a while now. Her heart, her name, her shadow, her personality, and her life force. Her Name, Shadow, and Personality have already been recovered. Dirk kept her life force, and Nepeta is still searching for her heart.

Nepeta: :33 < The second last part of your soul is somewhere in the Land of Tents and Mirth.

Meulin: (^•ω•^) < GODDAMMIT. IF WE GO TO GET IT, WE’LL HAVE TO DEAL WITH GAMZEE, AND POSSIBLY KURLOZ.

Nepeta: :33 < We could go after Dirk now.

Meulin: (^•x•^) < I LIKE THAT IDEA. HE’S BUSY SITTING ON HIS THRONE SOMEWHERE IN THE STINKING LAND OF TOMBS AND KRYPTON.

In the Land of Tombs and Krypton, the destroyer of souls, the Prince of Heart, Dirk Strider. He sighs. The world is empty, and his kingdom is a crushed one. Karkat and his brother Kankri have run off to preach to the greater populus. Gamzee bounces around the kingdoms in fits of insanity, and Kurloz sits at his side and never speaks due to his mouth being sewn shut. As for Nepeta and Meulin, they’ve got it out for him ever since he had to tear Meulin’s soul apart in self defence. One of those halves, her life force, bonded itself to his sword, the Unbreakable Katana. The second one got grabbed by Gamzee and taken to the Land of Tents and Mirth, at least provided that the insane clown didn’t keep Meulin’s heart and bind it to his teeth or something ridiculous like that. As the clown usually is. And now he can hear the pitter-patter of feet on the ground, and he can see Meulin and Nepeta approaching, taking off gas masks.

Dirk: So, you finally showed up, I see.

Nepeta: :33 < My aunt Meulin wants her soul back, so give it here and we might make this quick.

Dirk: You say might. Look, I’m busy right now, I’ve got a person to find. And Kurloz is uh, sort of helping me. He mainly just points and sign languages.

Meulin:  (=^•^=) < ENOUGH. KURLOZ. YOU WON’T FIGHT ME, WILL YOU?

Kurloz paces uneasily, because the prince can tell that tensions are about to break loose.

Meulin: (=^•ω•^=) < A MAGE AND ROGUE OF HEART ENTER COMBAT WITH TWO PRINCES OF HEART AND RAGE. THIS IS GOING TO BE FASCINATING.

The combat begins when Meulin draws her claws and pounces on Kurloz, pinning him to the ground with a hiss.

Meulin: (^•o•^) < STAY DOWN!

Kurloz simply grunts, and Nepeta leaps at Dirk. He blocks her claw attacks with his katana, and kicks her back into the far wall. Meulin follows up by stabbing him through the left arm, which he counters with a sword swing, cutting a gash through her ghost face, an attack made effective due to part of her life force being contained within the katana. She hisses, and claws three streaks across his chest. He stabs her in the right leg and kicks her in the face. She lands on her back and Dirk drops his sword for a moment and raises his hand. Pink energy fizzes out and into her. He begins to tear the soul out of her body.

Meulin: ~(=^. .^) < AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA **AAAAAAAAAAA**

Meulin screams as she is lifted off the ground. Nepeta takes off one of her claws and throws it, catching Dirk in the left eye. In response, he throws his sword with his free hand, taking off her left forearm. She yells, Meulin yells, Dirk grits his teeth, and Kurloz pries free. He reaches into his pocket and reveals a small knife. Then, without hesitating, he slices open the stitches over his mouth and shouts for all to hear:

Kurloz:  **THIS ENDS NOW!**

And they all stop. Nepeta stops advancing, Meulin drops to the ground, and Dirk stops sucking out her soul. They all turn to look at him.

Kurloz: You’re all being consumed by what defines your classes. Nepeta, as a Rogue of Heart, Meulin has you as a pawn, sent to gather her soul. Meulin, as a Mage of Heart, you are suffering due to a lack of soul because of a conflict that you initiated. Dirk, as a Prince of Heart, you tore apart Meulin’s soul in retaliation and are now breaking apart your own damn empire. So, I, as the Prince of Rage, take it upon myself to destroy your rage and calm your fury. Take any other action against you,  **and I will switch to destroying problems with my rage.** Do I make myself clear to each and every one of you fuckups?

There’s a pause. Dirk drops his hands. Meulin steps back from him, and Nepeta drops her weapons. Dirk reaches into his katana, pulls out a purplish object, and gives it to Meulin.

Meulin: (^._.^) < OH MY GOD… I’M ALIVE AGAIN.

Kurloz: It’s okay. You’ve got your life back. You’re still the same but in murder mode, I’m afraid.

Meulin looks down at her bloody hands. Dirk and Kurloz are busy helping Nepeta stop her arm’s blood flow. Meulin can only think on what she’s done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, he can speak!  
Still!


	7. Running

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John's here, finally!

ACT 1

In a forest in the Land of Frost and Frogs, a man runs from a series of assassins sent after him by the Lord of Time, Caliborn, for attempting to overthrow the Lord and his tyrannical rule. This action has made him a fugitive, and now that Caliborn has caught up with him, he’s sent a group of 9 or so people to go kill him, or at least kick his ass.

John Egbert, dressed in a blue shirt, pants, and hood with the iconic breath symbol across the shirt, runs across the snowy ground of the forest in a section with non-jungle trees, not that John would care, as he is too busy fending off the man in a blue cloak and cape carrying a sword and wearing the breath symbol, as well as a man in a red suit with a rolled back hood, a lance, and the time symbol on his chest. He remembers these two. Edgar Spencer and Daniel Hoffman. Once friends. Now enemies.

Edgar: Where the fuck you goin’ Egbert? Where the fuck you goin’?

Daniel: You can’t run forever!

Daniel is correct that John can’t run forever, but he can fight. He doesn’t want to kill them, so he stops, spins around, and throws his Warhammer of Zillyhoo at Edgar, who can’t deflect it in time and gets knocked to the ground. Daniel throws his lance, but John dodges it and it sticks into a tree, and uses some wind to knock Daniel into a different tree. Then he grabs his hammer.

John: Sorry Guys.

Then John takes off again. Running. Then he gets tripped and falls. Sam. The cocky Page of Time. This guy has an ego the size of the planet.

Sam: Haha! Look at that. You fell over. You weak piece of-

John hates him, and everybody else does, so he feels no remorse slamming the bastard’s jaw in. Maybe a little. He takes off running again, with Sam still chasing after him, not worrying about his broken jaw. John doesn’t have time for him, so he just Warhammer-hits a tree, and it falls in front of Sam, who runs into it, knocking him down and out. John keeps running.

High up above, Fin sits on a perch on the side of a small snowy canyon. Next to him are Radax Scormi, a Rust-Blood Witch of Breath, Alkaz Toria, a Blue-Blood God Tier Thief of Time, and Alice Henderson, a Sylph of Mind to prevent him from losing his mind. Most of these guys are fools with egos so big that they can’t support their heads and it's driving him crazy. He pulls out his radio to get some troops on the ground while he prepares his trap.

Fin: Hey Quarters, Ivan, get down to the boy’s location, stop him.

Elsewhere, Quarters the leprechaun draws his minigun, and Ivan the Prince of Mind draws his Shotgun of Thought. Then John skids around the corner of a rock and into view.

John: What the hell?

Quarters and Ivan aim their weapons and let rip. John ducks behind the rock as bullets spray. He pulls out a pistol he had from earlier. He checks the magazine. Only two bullets remain, because he spent three shooting a door open, and a fourth putting a guard out of his misery. One man, one bullet. John fires a shot at Quarters and hits him in the shoulder, causing him to stop shooting for a moment. However, Ivan gets a clean shot and hits John in the arm with a Shotgun of Thought Shot, causing his brain to spiral out of control. He fires at Ivan, but only catches him on the shin. He does go down though. John runs past them. Ivan fires another shot at him, but this time John is prepared. He turns to wind, the shot flies by, and then he turns back to normal and runs harder than before.

Fin smiles, as much as a shark faced creature can smile anyway. The boy is running right into the trap. He gets Alkaz to take away John’s time, and then uses a weapon to trigger an avalanche. Radax uses her powers to use wind to blow the snow towards John and crush him in the avalanche. Snow falls everywhere, filling the canyon. When it’s done falling, John may be several metres under and suffocating. John struggles and heaves against the snow, but it is heavy and crushing, and he is only human.

Fin, Quarters, Alkaz, Radax, Alice, and Ivan approach the spot in the snow. After a minute or two, a red hammer swings out of the snow, and freezes Radax in time. She stops as red gears of energy fly around her. John bursts out and Quarters begins firing his minigun. John dodges, and poor Ivan is shredded by bullets.

Fin: Stop shooting, you idiot!

Quarters stops firing, and John slams Alice in the face with his Warhammer of Zillyhoo while grabbing his red Fear No Anvil hammer. Alice sinks beneath the snow. Alkaz steals the rest of the time left on Fear No Anvil and Radax becomes unfrozen in time. John chucks his Pogo Hammer at Alkaz, knocking him out and sending the hammer flying, before it stops at Quarters’ feet. Quarters starts spewing bullets again, and John sends a blast of wind to smash him into the canyon wall, causing his 7 coins with the members of the Felt’s faces on them to spill everywhere. John then throws hammer after hammer at him until he slumps dead. Fin struggles to hang on in the storm as Radax and John begin wind fighting.

John can shoot wind at Radax, but she can manipulate it, making most of his attacks null. However, he slowly advances towards her, and once within range, he tries one of his oldest tactics in the book: The Egbert Punch. Radax goes flying and slams unconscious into the wall. Then Fin stands behind John.

Fin: This ain’t over yet!

Fin begins firing his pistol at John until he runs out of bullets. Having used his magic to stop the bullets, they simply hang in the air until John makes them drop into the snow. Fin laughs nervously, and grabs one of Quarters’ coins, which has his face on it. He flips it, knowing full well that if it lands on his side, because he’s flipping it, he’ll die. But when it does land, the number displays 15 instead of 5, and Fin is sucked into the coin, while Cans is spat out.

Cans chuckles, and cracks his knuckles. John raises his Warhammer of Zillyhoo and Fear No Anvil. Cans laughs, and punches him in the chest extremely hard. John goes flying, rocketing out of the Land of Frost of Frogs, and he slams into grassy ground somewhere else. He drops Fear No Anvil, and he swears that the Warhammer of Zillyhoo is broken in half (but he doubts it). He looks to see Fear No Anvil stuck in the side of a rock. He groans and gets up. He has arrived in the Land of Rays and Frogs. He goes to retrieve Fear No Anvil, but doesn’t have the strength and collapses. Feeling for injuries, he deduces that Cans broke a rib or two. He examines his surroundings, noticing a tower or two on a hill in the distance next to a volcano.

What John does not know is that on the volcano are Rose Lalonde and Kanaya Maryam, and entering the region right now are Horuss and Equius Zahhak, the two bounty hunters, their crosshairs set on Rose Lalonde. And Porrim Maryam should be back within the hour.

As the Employer said, the pieces are indeed falling into place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, I actually flipped a coin (or something) to check whether Fin would die or summon Cans, and he got lucky. The whole story could've actually changed right there because John wouldn't end up where he did.


	8. 'Night' of Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More introductions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is Night of Blood, but it's more like 5 AM of Blood

ACT 1

Somewhere in the very far southeast, a troll and his twin brother walk through a carnival of a sort. Blue tents and red tents, balloons all over the place. The men in question are Karkat and Kankri Vantas, dressed in a black shirt and orange pants and a red sweater and black pants.

Kankri: Where is every69dy here?

Karkat: I HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE. I’VE NOTICED THAT IN THE KINGDOM OF CHAOS AND EMOTION, *EVERYBODY* IS NOWHERE.

Kankri: Well, s9me69dy’s g9t 9 6e s9mewhere.

Karkat: BE SERIOUS KANKRI, NOBODY LIKES THE LAND OF TENTS AND MIRTH, WHETHER THEY REALISE IT OR NOT.

Kankri: Well I’m sure that s9me69dy will be here, like the pers9n in charge 9r s9mething.

Karkat: I DON’T KNOW, MAN.

The two trolls continue to walk in silence, until they spot him standing there. A troll in a purple suit with a headcap shaped like some hill, his two curvy horns arcing out of the sides of the hat. His shoes curve upwards, and his facepaint around his eyes shifts and waves.

Kankri: 9h, l99k! S9me69dy. I’ll g9 talk t9 him.

Karkat: I *DEFINITELY* DON’T LIKE THE LOOK OF THAT GUY.

Clown: HeY tHeRe MoThErFuCkErS. wElCoMe To ThE dArK cArNiVaL iN tHe LaNd Of TeNtS aNd MiRtH. iT’s GoInG tO bE mOtHaFuCkIn GrEaT.

Karkat: I *REALLY DEFINITELY* DON’T LIKE HIM.

Kankri: 9h, 6e quiet. Where is every69dy?

The Clown thinks about this, then walks off in a random direction.

Clown: ThIs WaY.

The Clown leads them past many locations. Roller Coasters in tents, Merry-Go-Rounds in tents, everything in tents. At some point, Karkat notices that there are indeed people. Kankri goes over to begin preaching to them. Kankri’s well known, so people gather pretty fast.

Kankri: Hell9 9ne and all. I’m sure all 9f y9u tr9lls 9ut there have n9ticed that pretty much every9ne else is 9f higher 6l99d rank than y9u, all the time. It 6egs the question; why d9es 9ur species need a hem9spectrum? Why d9 we need t9 say yes t9 s9me pe9ple and n9 t9 9thers just 6ecause they’ve g9t different 6l99d types? Racism is a pr96lem in many s9cieties, as I’m sure y9u all kn9w, with humans by skin c9l9ur and tr9lls by 6l99d c9l9ur. And I’m sure y9u’d all like to see those 9pini9ns of y9u change. L99king at the cr9wd right n9w, at least three-quarters 9f y9u are humans 9r l9w6l99ds, and every69dy else is s9mewhere in the middle 9f 69th race’s 9pini9ns 9f them. N9w I’m saying that it can 6e changed…

Karkat: THERE HE GOES *AGAIN*.

Karkat: JEGUS, MAN. YOU’RE CREEPING ME THE HELL OUT.

The Clown is still staring at Karkat, smiling like it’s nobody’s business. Karkat can swear that he’s got face scratches, like the kind of ones someone makes when defending themselves.

Clown: I sEe YoU nOtIcEd My MoThErFuCkInG sCaRs. WaNt To KnOw HoW i GoT tHeM?

The Clown leans in close when he says the last sentence, and Karkat decides to keep a sizable distance away from him. The Clown follows Karkat.

Karkat: *HEY*. QUIT FUCKING FOLLOWING ME.

The Clown just smiles. Kankri emerges from the tent.

Kankri: Well, that went well!

Karkat: WE LEAVING THEN?

Kankri: Yep.

Kankri and Karkat proceed towards the entry gates to the dark carnival, the clown still following them like some kind of puppy. Or like a wolf stalks prey.

Clown: I nOtIcEd YoU wErE lEaViNg.

Karkat: YES, WE WILL SOON LEAVE THIS GODDAMN PLACE FOREVER.

Clown: My NaMe Is GaMzEe.

Karkat: I DIDN’T ASK FOR YOUR FUCKIN’ NAME YOU PIECE OF SHIT.

Gamzee: nO nO, i GiVe YoU mY nAmE fOr A rEaSon.

Karkat: AND WHY THE HELL WOULD THAT BE?

Gamzee: bEcAuSe Of CoUrSe, YoU wOuLd WaNt ThE nAmE oF tHe PeRsOn ThAt WiLl KiLl YoU, i WoUlD mOtHeRfUcKiNg WaNt It.

Gamzee: Now Let’s Get Down To Business.

Gamzee pulls out a pair of clubs and slowly walks towards Karkat and Kankri, with Karkat raising his sickles, and Kankri raising his dagger. Neither of them understands what’s going on or why they have to fight him, but Gamzee does. Something along the lines of slotting everything into place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My standard Alt-speaking Quirk is to enunciate the first letter of every word by the way


	9. Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A complicated fight scene

ACT 1

Back in the Land of Rays and Frogs, a man crash lands into the ground in the distance. Morning has come, so Kanaya rouses Rose.

Kanaya: Hey. Rose.

Rose: Hmm?

Kanaya: Did You See That?

Rose: See what?

Kanaya: Nevermind. I’m Going To Go Check Something Out. Just Stay Here.

Rose: Ok.

Kanaya heads down the volcano side, and walks toward the crash site, meanwhile, Rose spots two trolls. The first one wears cracked glasses, black shoes, grey pants, and a black tank top with the sagittarius symbol in indigo profile. His left horn is an arrow, and the right one is broken. The second is dressed in an all brown classic pilot suit, with goggles and everything. He has the same symbol as the first one on a belt buckle. Both of his horns are arrows, and his hair is tied back in a ponytail. The first has a bow on his back and is busy cracking his knuckles. The second carries a pair of knives.

Horuss: 8=D < Hey there.

Equius: D--> This’ll only hurt a second.

Rose backs up as the first troll throws a punch at her and she just dodges. She reaches into her pockets for her two wands. One wand, actually, since the other one got eaten. She raises the wand and fires a blast of energy, but because she’s weak, it’s weak, and it only lightly knocks back the first guy. The second one laughs and throws a knife, with sticks in Rose’s right shoulder. She knows that she can’t handle them if all she can do is lightly push and is down to about ⅗ of her blood, so she does the logical thing.

Rose: KANAYA!

No response. Rose grits her teeth and raises her wand again. Kanaya can’t hear Rose due to the wind pickup in her area caused by the crash of John Egbert.

John: Ugh. What the-?

Kanaya is pointing her chainsaw at his face.

Kanaya: Who The Hell Are You?

John: My name is John Egbert. I’m-

Kanaya: You’re On Caliborn’s Side, Aren’t You? I’m Going To-

John: No, wait, I’m a fugitive!

Kanaya: Like I Would Believe That.

John: Great. I’m going to die having been chainsawed by a troll lady after getting punched in the face by a leprechaun, after being buried under snow by a leprechaun, after being shot at by a leprechaun, after being chased by various wielders of Time and Breath, and a little bit of mind. Bad day today, I guess.

Kanaya: …

Kanaya: Plausible Enough. Think I Remember Who You Are Now.

Up above, Horuss and Equius keep punching and stabbing at Rose. With a knife in the right shoulder, beaten up jaw, and wound in her knee, she makes a last ditch attempt and fires her wand down below. Equius follows it with his eye.

Equius: D--> Holy crap, Horuss. It’s damn John Egbert.

Horuss: 8=D < Seriously?

Equius: D --> Change of plans. You deal with Rose, I’ll get John. Any favour with Caliborn is good favour!

Equius jumps down as Kanaya and John trace the source of the wand blast. Equius runs past Kanaya and punches John into a hill wall, then pulls out his bow. Kanaya thinks to herself. If Rose fired a blast near her to get her attention, and Equius is here, then-

Kanaya: Shit!

Kanaya starts running towards the volcano, and Equius pauses to think about who he should hit. If he kills John, Kanaya will probably kill Horuss. So he changes his aim and fires an arrow into her calf. She falls. John gets up and bodychecks Equius, which makes him stumble, but otherwise does nothing. Equius drops his bow, John punches him in the face and goes to grab Fear No Anvil, and Kanaya sprints towards the volcano the best she can with an injured calf.

Horuss: 8=D < Any last words, madam?

Rose: Fuck you.

Horuss: 8=D < Oh well then.

Horuss raises his right hand with the knife in it, sees a spinning chainsaw flying toward him, and then before he can process it, his entire right forearm gets taken off. He screams, and Kanaya pulls Rose away from the mountain after grabbing her weapon. Rose’s breathing is laboured, heavy, and she’s dying for the second time in two days.

Meanwhile, John rips his hammer out of the rock and the force of his pull swings it around, but he doesn’t hit the arrow coming at him, and it lands a solid hit in the flesh of his left arm. In response, John charges Equius, yelling. Equius in turn charges him, yelling as well. The impact of fist on hammer sends the hammer flying out of John’s hands, and freezes Equius in time. Then, as Kanaya drags Rose, near to where John is, a voice shouts.

Porrim: What the hell is go+ing o+n here!?

Horuss: 8=D < Oh great…

John: Wha?

Kanaya: Mom?

Rose: Mmph.

Equius: D --> aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa……

John turns to see a woman in a black and green dress, tattoos, ring piercings in her eyebrows, and a left horn that points downward at the very end striding across the small plateau above. John grabs Fear No Anvil, Kanaya drops Rose, Horuss begins to draw another knife while trying and failing to stop his blood flow, while Equius continues to go slowly move.

Horuss: 8=D < Just because you’re deadly doesn’t mean I’ll bow to you, lowb100d.

Porrim: And it’s because yo+u wo+n’t, yo+u’ll die.

Porrim pulls out a stick of lipstick and turns it into a chainsaw. She advances towards Horuss, passing John, Equius, Kanaya, and Rose. Horuss throws his knife, and she slams it out of the way. At that moment, Equius unfreezes, and his punch collides with John’s face and knocks him unconscious to the ground. Then he picks up the human and begins to choke him to death. Meanwhile, Porrim swipes aside Horuss’ attacks, and stabs the turned off chainsaw into his chest, and his lifeblood begins to trickle out faster. Equius pauses for a moment.

Equius: D--> Cousin!

Porrim: Any last wo+rds?

Horuss: 8=D < Oh f*ddlesticks.

Porrim turns on the chainsaw and sweeps it upwards and to the left, completely severing what remains of the left half of his body. He falls to the ground cut in half.

Equius grits his teeth and throws John at Porrim, who simply side steps, and John slams into the rock and dirt. Equius picks up Fear No Anvil and charges Porrim, who calmly stands with her chainsaw.

Equius: D--> I’m going to shred you!

Porrim: Ditto.

At the last second before Equius reaches her, Porrim throws her chainsaw through the air. Equius hits it away with Fear No Anvil.

Equius: D--> Ha! Take-

Kanaya throws her chainsaw and it punches into Equius’ chest. The hit makes him drop the hammer and he sinks to the ground. He manages to sputter out;

Equius: D--> You’ll be punished for killing a troll higher on the hemospectrum.

Porrim: If that’s the case, yo+ur actio+ns in the past apply, and this is justice. No+w get the hell o+ut o+f here befo+re we finish yo+u o+ff.

Equius pulls the chainsaw out, and begins to limp away. He doesn’t grab anything. He just leaves. He passes Horuss’ corpse. He passes Fear No Anvil. The dropped chainsaws. He walks off into the distance and enters the desert of Pyramids and Neon, and disappears on the horizon, as if he has seized to exist.

Porrim: No+w then, what have I co+me ho+me to this time?

Kanaya: Well, A Girl Beset By Invisible Mind Beasts Stumbled In, I Stitched Her Up, Then Those Two Showed Up, Man In Blue Robe Crashlanded, Some Fighting Happened, Then You Showed Up.

Porrim surveys the battlefield.

Rose: Help me…

Rose crawls towards the two, bleeding from numerous wounds. Kanaya wants to help again, but she’s not sure what the consequences will be for both of them.

Rose: I don’t have a lot of time left until I lose enough blood that I won’t be able to keep moving oxygen around my body… Please…

Kanaya looks at Porrim, who remains stone faced. Rose crawls closer.

Rose: Please… I need… I need…

Rose stops talking for a moment and coughs.

Rose: No. No. I don’t want to…

Rose dies of Cardiac Arrest, having lost enough blood to not be able to pump any more blood and losing oxygen. Her corpse slumps to the ground.

Tick

Kanaya stares for a moment.

Tock

She walks over, and picks up the body.

Tick

She grabs a shovel and walks to a remote part of the island chain.

Tock

She begins digging a grave. She doesn’t know why, it just feels respectful.

Tick

It doesn’t take very long, and Kanaya has no headstone to place, so she leaves the grave.

Tock

Porrim is getting ready to wake up the boy in blue, and make him explain what he’s doing here.

Tick

His weapons are separated from him.

Tock

Porrim wakes him up by dunking cold water on him.

**NEUTRAL**

John wakes from his unconscious state with a yell.

Porrim: O+k, what are yo+u do+ing here?

John: I got punched in the chest and ended up here, then I was fighting that troll guy. Then I was unconscious. Then I got dunked in water and woke up.

Porrim: Kanaya told me that yo+u were a fugitive fro+m the Kingdo+m of Futures and Sto+rms.

John: Yeah, I didn’t agree with “His Lord Caliborn’s” policies and started a revolution against him. It went well, until it didn’t, and I got dozens of his loyalists sent after me. I just got punched by a big damn leprechaun into this area.

Porrim: So that’s why, then.

John: Yep.

Rose wakes covered in dirt, all around her. She claws at it and pushes it out of the way, pushing and prodding, trying to get air, until she emerges in the light of the early morning.

Rose: What...

She looks at her hands. Feels her wounds which aren’t there anymore.

Rose: The hell?

She can hear more whispering nearby, getting closer and closer, so she begins to run on her non broken leg. She catches sight of Kanaya’s tower, on the border between coastal and desert. She can hear voices coming from inside. She walks inside and heads up the stairs. She listens at the door and hears the boy from earlier speaking.

John: … Yeah, and it doesn’t matter anyway, because there’s no way that I’d find Roxy in that entire region, the Land of Wind and Shade is massive.

Rose bursts into the room.

Rose: You’re looking for Roxy?

Everyone seems to jump for a moment.

John: Jesus! I thought you were dead?

Rose: Not important. You’re looking for Roxy?

John: Uh, yeah?

Rose: Ok, well, I’m heading with you.

Kanaya: I Thought You Were Dead!

Rose: So did I. Don’t know why I’m alive, and I don’t really care. If you’re heading to the Land of Wind and Shade to look for Roxy, I’m going with you. What’s your name anyway?

John: Uh, John. John Egbert. And you are…?

Rose: Rose. Rose Lalonde. Now get ready John, I’ve already died today, I’m not in the mood to have you sit around for an hour.

John spends the next little while preparing himself and he and Rose set out to the Land of Wind and Shade, then Kanaya joins them because she wants to learn more about what the hell is happening and going to happen. Porrim stays behind. The trio sets out to find Roxy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, fascinating


	10. Not Dead Yet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Equius gets something of revenge

ACT 1

Having managed to stop his bleeding extraordinarily luckily, Equius has met up with the cherub ‘Callie’ and has spun some sob story about how some jadeblood stabbed him and killed his cousin. He is departing for the Land of Wind and Shade so that he can get back at that Rose person, who was apparently heading there, but first he’ll get back at Porrim and her kid. When he and Calliope arrive at the hive, he stops.

Equius: D --> Just wait outside for a moment.

Calliope: what is it?

Equius: D --> Just wait outside, please.

Equius sneaks into the building and pulls out one of his special knives. He creeps up and has a peek around. He soon finds Porrim. Staring at something on a table, facing his direction, whether she realises it or not. In a single action, he forces the door open and throws the knife. It hits her in the right lung, and she yells. He punches her in the face, and she falls to the ground on her back. Equius presses his knees on her shoulders so she can’t move her arms, and pulls the knife out of her. He twirls it in his hands as he speaks.

Equius: D--> You killed my fucking cousin, you piece of shit. Now, I swore that I would kill you in revenge. And here I am. Where’s Kanaya?

Porrim: I’ll never tell yo+u.

Porrim pulls out her stick of lipstick, and it turns into a chainsaw. She swipes upwards with it, and cuts a gash in his cheek. He responds by sweeping his right leg and kicking her in the face, while stabbing her arm with his knife. Then he grabs both sides of her head as she drops the chainsaw and Equius uses his left leg to kick it away.

Equius: D--> Any last words?

Porrim: Screw yo+u.

Equius breaks her neck, swiftly and quietly. Then he wipes himself down of blood. Then he walks back outside to where Calliope is.

Calliope: what happened? was that a yell? why is yoUr cheek cUt?

Equius: D--> Hurt myself on some glass. Don’t worry about it.

Equius and Calliope continue on. Meanwhile, Porrim lies dead on the floor of her home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Porrim


	11. Fight of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave does some things to be Caliborn's "Champion" (or something like that)

ACT 1

Far to the south, a troll walks across a hilly landscape with possibilities flashing in the sky. She wears a black shirt and pants, red pointed end glasses, and her horns are two sharp spikes. This is Terezi Pyrope. She is walking across the landscape of Thought and Flow towards where her homes in slums of a sort are. She’s just come from the Land of Heat and Clockwork and the forges after a meeting with some undisclosed person.

She enters the slums, just as destroyed and damaged as she has smelled them before. Having memorised the layout, she knows where to go to get to her hive. She passes through the slums and gets to her hive in the forest, using the lever to pull herself up to her room. She then pulls up her computer to see the status. She can’t see it, but she knows her way around well enough. She checks to see if she has any other video messages from her older sister Latula. She can’t see her now, but she knows what Latula looks like, because she saw her before she went blind. She looks the same, but she wears a teal streak across her black shirt with a red version of her Libra symbol. She wears long red boots, and her red glasses are squarelike. No video messages today. She pulls up her old pesterlogs.

ectoBiologist and  ghostyTrickster are the same person, whether John admits it or not, and since he left his computer behind, there’s no point messaging him. Also she’s never told him her name.  adiosToreader is unliked.  apocalypseArisen is always off doing something.  turntechGodhead is generally the most talkative. Everyone else she knows doesn’t use this site.

gallowsCalibrator [GC] began trolling  turntechGodhead [TG]

GC: H3Y

GC: D4V3

TG: why the hell are you messaging me at this time it’s only 9:00.

GC: JUST WOND3R1NG HOW TH1NGS W3R3 GO1NG W1TH YOU

TG: still vying for Caliborn’s favour. tough, because there’s lots of competitors.

GC: HOWS L4TUL4 DOWN TH3R3

TG: tough competitor, yeah. too bad you can’t come down here. you’d like it.

GC: 1 WOULD L1T3R4LLY L1CK *3V3RYTH1NG* JUST TO KNOW MY W4Y 4ROUND

TG: true, true.

TG: listen, I’ve got somewhere to be, so I’ve got to go.

GC: OK

GC: S33 YOU <>

TG: see you <>

gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased trolling  turntechGodHead [TG] at 9:04

In the Land of Colours and Mayhem, Dave Strider gets out of bed and grabs his sword. He puts on his glasses, pulls on his shirt with the broken record on it as well as his brown pants, then sets out to Caliborn’s tower. This section of the land contains the city section, with buildings of various shapes and sizes, the capital of the Kingdom of Futures and Storms. There are other locations here, including the red fields, orange beaches, and volcanic lands, just to name a few, but this is the most well known. He soon arrives at Caliborn’s tower. A tall metal thing painted a green colour, covered in windows and cameras, looming over everything else.

Dave enters inside, and walks up several flights of stairs. When he arrives, he takes note of the many competitors, some of whom have come from other kingdoms, all to participate in Caliborn’s tournament of a sort. At some point, a strange man in a white suit and a round white head with no features in the shape of a ball steps up.

D o c Scratch: [ Hello everyone. I am a representative of Caliborn. He will begin challenges shortly, but first decrees that you state who you are and what your class is. ]

One by one, people step up. Dave is the knight of time. He knows that much. He knows Latula, the knight of mind. Fremal is a troll prince of time, Hagen is a prince of mind, and young human Tim is a knight of rage. Alkazar and Ilman are both knights of breath, Qel is a prince of breath, Amy is a knight of doom, and her brother Alex is a prince of void.

D o c Scratch: [ Good. Everyone step through that door and progress as you see fit. Your powers will be dampened, so you will have to rely on whatever weapons you’ve got. ]

The man points at the wall, a door appears, and the man points at it. One by one, people file in. The ten of them emerge into hot sun as the door disappears behind them. They have arrived in some jungle of a sort. The heat beats down on them.

Alkazar: Where the hell are we?

Fremal: Th3 r3al qu3sTion is, wh3n ar3 w3?

Tim: Fremal, shut the hell up.

Hagen: Well, we’re somewhere in a jungle in some pocket dimension.

Ilman: Great observation, dingus, we’re in the fucking jungle, who DIDN’T notice that?

Alex: Am I the only one that thinks we should stop yelling at each other and instead have a look around instead of going after each other?

Latula: 4y3.

The group of ten walks without speaking for a little while, trudging through the silent forest. After a while, Ilman speaks up.

Ilman: Alright, this idea is bust. We aren’t getting anywhere with this. All we’re doing is walking forward, hoping we find something, and so far all we’ve found is more jungle.

Alex: Jesus, man, shut up and just hope for the best.

Tim: Speaking of hope, I think I’m going to try something. I might be able to reverse the polarity of my rage-ness and backfire it into hope, then use that.

Amy: I didn’t understand a single word of that.

Latula: m3 31th3r, 4nd how 3x4ctly do you pl4n to r3v3rs3 th3 pol4r1ty?

Ilman: So far all I’m seeing is your brain backfiring, Tim.

Tim: I told you earlier, shut up.

Hagen: Guys.

Ilman: Yeah, well what if I don’t want to shut up? You can’t tell me what to do.

Tim: Don’t piss me off man, you won’t like me when I’m angry!

Hagen: Guys.

Ilman: Oh yeah? If you’re so tough, why don’t you just show us?

Hagen: GUYS! STOP FIGHTING AND LET ME FUCKING SPEAK!

Everyone pauses and looks at Hagen.

Hagen: I looked at possibilities, and, uh, we’re literally just a short walk from where the next section begins, or this one truly begins, I suppose.

Ilman: Oh.

Everyone keeps walking. Dave facepalms.

Latula: Wh4t 4 bunch of 1d1ots. H3y, you know T3r3z1, r1ght?

Dave thinks about what to say.

Dave: yep. we’re moirails. and you’re her sister?

Latula: 1nd33d.

Dave: huh.

They continue walking in silence.

Dave: hey, uh…

Latula: Wh4t?

Dave: how likely do you think either of us is to survive?

Latula: How l1k3ly? W3ll, only on3 of us c4n com3 out on top out of t3n of us, so w3 34ch h4v3 4 t3n p3rc3nt ch4nc3 of v1ctory.

Dave: yeah, I guess so. who do you think will die first?

Latula: Oh, th4t’s 34sy. 1lm4n. H3’s got 4 m4ss1v3 3go, 4nd w4nts to go th1s whol3 th1ng 4lon3. H3’ll d13 1nst4ntly 1f w3 l34v3 h1m.

Dave: huh. yeah. … so if we each have a 10% chance of survival, good luck.

Latula: Luck? Luck h4s noth1ng to do w1th 1t. Sk1ll 1s 4ll th4t m4tt3rs. M4y th3 b3st w1n.

Dave, Latula, and the others eventually break into a clearing. It is just like all of the other jungle parts they’ve seen, but it is partially swamped, the left side of it is rocky, and a temple of a sort sits to the right of the entrance.

Ilman: Yes! We found the temple!

Alkazar: Sweet!

Alkazar and Ilman run up to the temple and begin to pry at the door, before realising that it’s just a painting.

Alkazar: Nuts.

Amy: Dammit. There’s not even a single thing to kill.

Hagen: Think people, let’s put our heads together.

Alex: Everybody spread out and have a look around.

Alkazar: I’ll check those rocks.

Fremal: T3mpl3.

Tim: Me too.

Alex: Anyone else?

Latula: 1’ll pok3 4round th3 cl34r1ng.

Dave: me too.

Amy: I can check out the pools. I’m a good swimmer.

Hagen: I’ll poke around as well.

Alex: Same here. Anyone else? Ilman, Qel?

Ilman: I don’t need you guys. I’m going to go look around on my own.

Alex: Ok. If you die, it’s not our fault. Qel?

Qel stares deeply into his eyes and smiles the smile that a maniac smiles.

Qel: It only takes one stab wound to kill a person, if you know where to hit.

Everyone pauses, slightly disturbed by Qel, before getting away from him. Dave begins looking around the clearing. He doesn’t find anything in particular. He goes over to Alkazar.

Dave: yo.

Alkazar: Oh! Hey. Haven’t found anything with these rocks, and that damn brother of mine is being annoying as hell just by existing.

Dave: yeah, he is. why’s he like that?

Alkazar: He just is. I hate him.

Dave: understandably.

Hagen: Can you guys hear that?

Fremal: h3ar whaT?

Hagen: That… rumbling. I’m checking the possibilities.

Dave listens. He can hear a faint rumbling.

Alkazar: Yeah, it’s coming from these rocks.

Hagen: Holy shit…

Alkazar: What?

Tim: What is it?

Hagen: GET AWAY FROM THOSE-

The ground rises up underneath Alkazar and he’s propelled into the air, yelling. It continues to rise up, and soon it is revealed to be a giant crocodile with legs as big as tree trunks. Big, green, scaly, and the rocks are not rocks, but head scales. Alkazar falls to the ground, and it crushes his chest and head with its foot, and it roars. He doesn’t even get to scream, for his gore has been splattered across the jungle floor.

Alex: Holy fuck!

Fremal: Son of a biTch!

Ilman: Alk!

The beast roars, and lumbers forward.

Hagen: Mother of fuck!

Tim: Shit, shit, shit!

Latula: run for your fuck1ng l1v3s!

Dave scrambles backwards as the beast gets closer to him. He practically falls over, and Fremal grabs on to him, pulling him back and to his feet.

Amy: Where the hell do we run!?

Ilman: Who the fuck knows, just run, dammit!

Everybody scatters, when Alex shouts something.

Alex: This way! There’s a river this way!

He begins to run through a section of jungle, and a few make the wise decision to follow, the others soon after. Qel turns back and pulls out a shotgun, and begins firing at the beast.

Qel: Sangrar! Morir del balas de el gran rey de destrucción! SANGRAR!

Dave grabs him as he runs by.

Dave: come on you fool!

The group, reduced to nine, keeps running until they reach the river, and they run through it. As they run through, a large log lifts up to reveal that it is in fact another giant crocodile, not quite as big, but just as deadly, Dave is sure of that. Its bottom teeth stick out to the side. It roars as it swings its mouth down to take a bite out of Hagen.

Fremal: Hag3n, look ouT!

The beast clamps its jaw around Hagen’s leg. Blood spills everywhere.

Hagen: AAAAAHHHHH

The crocodile swings its mouth upwards, and Hagen flies up. It catches him in its mouth. What’s left of Hagen explodes into a bloody mess with a sickening crunch.

Amy: Oh fuck! OH FUCK!

Everyone that remains turns a different direction and runs downstream while the two crocodiles meet in a mess of snapping jaws and blood. The group of what is now eight keeps running.

Ilman: Oh god oh god oh god

Amy: Where exactly are we going!?

Alex: I don’t know, anywhere!

They keep running downstream, until they arrive at a large gate of some kind.

Tim: What the hell just happened!?

Ilkam: Goddammit, the rocks are crocodiles, the river is crocodiles, what are the trees made of? Fucking crocodiles. I swear to god…

Qel: Heh heh heh.

Dave: my god, what the heck.

Latula: 1s no on3 3ls3 go1ng to t4lk 4bout th3 g4t3 th1ng?

Everybody turns to the gate that sits at the end of the river, which is covered in yellow glyphs of all kinds. Most are indistinguishable, but some are recognisable, at least to some people.

Amy: That’s troll written language right there.

Latula: 1t says ‘Sp34k blood 4nd 3nt3r’. Huh.

Fremal: Uh, blood?

Ilman steps up to the gate.

Ilman: Blood.

Nothing happens.

Latula: H3r3 w4it, l3t m3 try som3th1ng. T34l.

A random glyph lights up an orangish colour.

Latula: 1 gu3ss you s4y your blood colours, th3n?

Alex: Here. Red.

Another glyph lights up to an orange colour.

Fremal: Gold.

Another glyph red. People repeat their blood colours (The rest are red), and after Qel says his last, the glyph for red blood has gotten red hot, and the door swings open, revealing a large blue light for a wall.

Tim: … Uh, what?

Fremal: WhaT is thaT?

Amy: Pretty sure that that right there is a portal. A gate to the next part.

Alex: I’ll go first.

Alex disappears inside. Everyone else soon follows. They exit the hot sun and exit into more hot sun, just that now they’re inside a coliseum of some sort, and in the desert by the looks of it.

Ilman: Still hot.

Alex: Shut up and quit whining.

Fremal: I’ll scouT ah3ad.

Fremal begins to walk the length of coliseum, when a white shape pounces on him from above. Two actually. He begins to scream as they tear into him.

Alex: Fremal!

Amy: Brother, wait!

Alex has already drawn his sword and began to charge at the white beast, when it lifts its inhuman head and tail to reveal a large gaping maw, yellow eyes, and a pointed tail like a scorpion’s. Alex stops dead when it roars at him.

Alex: MANTICORE LUSII!

The creature turns back to biting into Fremal’s head, spraying dirty gold blood everywhere. He continues screaming, but stops when his head pops off and bounces off Alex’s chest, splattering him with blood and knocking him to the ground. Everybody draws their weapons. Mainly swords, but Qel has a shotgun, and Amy has a battlehammer. They charge the creatures. Amy gets there first and slams the first creature’s head to the ground. The second one leaps at Alex, and Latula slices its face open. Everybody begins running around, striking hits at the creatures. After they’re all killed, the ground begins to rumble. Then parts of it begin to rise. A maze has formed out of the ground. A voice booms.

D o c Scratch: [ You have done well. Now, you have a minute to scatter yourselves throughout the maze. Go. ]

The group members look at each other, then scatter. Ilman goes down one hall, and Tim follows him. Amy and Alex stick together and Qel sneaks after them.

Latula: H3y.

Dave: what?

Latula: W4nn4 t34m up?

Dave: uh, yeah, sure I guess.

Latula: r4d.

They pause and head down a hallway. After a minute, the voice speaks again.

D o c Scratch: [ Now you all must kill each other. There can be three survivors of this, tops. Any more, and I’ll choose someone to kill off at random. ]

There’s a long pause. Dave finally speaks up.

Dave: guess we better make sure that we both make it and everyone else dies.

Latula: Y3p.

The silence is broken with Ilman yelling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, expendables.  
Except Alex, who, as a Prince of Void, destroys his own Irrelevance and therefore gains Relevance.


	12. Fight of Time Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continued from previous.

ACT 1

Elsewhere in the maze, Tim brings his sword down to Ilman’s face. Ilman blocks it, but Tim swings and attacks ferociously.

Tim: You wanted to see me angry? THIS IS ME ANGRY!

Tim stabs Ilman in the arm and pulls the sword up his arm, causing him to drop his. Tim swings the sword around and chops into Ilman’s chest, before he stabs him to a pulp, his eyes red with rage, releasing the powers of his aspect. He walks off into the maze. Then he sees Qel walking with his shotgun. He notices Amy and Alex preparing for an ambush. He decides to cause a distraction, and grabs a knife, and throws it into Qel’s shoulder. Qel yells, and Tim advances on him with his sword. He knocks the shotgun out of Qel’s hand, but Qel punches him in the throat, causing him to drop his sword and his berserker rage. Alex bursts into view with a submachine gun, but doesn’t want to shoot Tim, but is alright with killing Qel, if only he could get a clear shot. Qel shoves both of them out of view. Alex keeps his finger on the trigger. Meanwhile, Qel and Tim punch each other, but Qel gets the upper hand and slams his face against the wall, causing him to fall down. Then the prince of breath retrieves his shotgun.

Qel practically slides across the gap between two walls and around a corner, firing shots. Alex is shooting back at him. Qel takes a shot from around the corner when Alex’s guard is down to shoot him in the hand so that he can’t carry the SMG anymore. He clutches his hand, and ducks behind cover as Qel emerges. Amy sneaks up behind him with her sword. She cuts across his chest.

Amy: You son of a bitch!

Qel raises his shotgun and fires, splattering the walls with blood. Alex punches Qel in the face and knocks him down. Qel snarls.

Alex: You motherfucker! I’ll kill you, bastard!

Qel sweeps his legs out from underneath him. Alex tries to get up, but Qel punches, then kicks him in the face. Alex falls unconscious, now lying next to Tim, who wakes up. Qel pulls the knife out of his shoulder, then speaks in a sing-song voice.

Qel: It only takes one stab wound to kill a person, if you know where to hit.

As he brings the knife towards Alex’s heart, Tim realizes something. Alex will do better than him. He has good traits. Leadership, good fighting skills, and Tim’s surprisingly weak. Plus he owes Alex for not shooting him earlier. So he sticks his hand out and blocks the knife, it going into the back of his hand. He yells in pain and struggles to stop Qel from shoving the knife further in. He knocks Qel down and gets up and they begin punching each other. Qel grabs Tim’s arm and pushes the handle of the knife deeper into his skin using his knee. Then he shoves Tim into the wall and aims the knife at his chest. He shoves his own hand towards his heart. Tim struggles to hold back the knife, knowing that if he advances forward, he will die. He remembers back to his past. Everyone calling him weak. Pointless. Unnecessary. Worthless. They still do. He knows that he can’t hold Qel back. Crying in fear of death and sadness of memories, he lets go of the knife because he can’t take the memories anymore and accepts his fate. The knife passes into his chest with a crunch, and Tim falls limp.

Qel surveys the room. Alex lies dead or unconscious, Tim is dead, and Amy sits against the far wall with a shotgun wound. Elsewhere, Dave and Latula close in on the sounds of the fighting. Qel goes and picks up Amy’s shortsword and walks down a hallway. Dave can hear him getting closer. He signals. Three. Qel gets closer. Two. Dave keeps his sword at the ready. One. Latula prepares her sword.

Dave and Latula burst out of hiding, moving Qel back to the center of the room where the fight took place. Dave kicks Qel over and brings the sword down towards him, but Qel blocks it with his hands, turning the joints to his fingers bloody. Latula sneaks up behind him and picks up Amy’s fallen shortsword. It fits better in her hand, so she takes it instead of her own sword. As she prepares to stab Qel from his right, he shifts his hands so that only the left one is blocking the sword, and grabs her throat, making her drop the sword. It lands on the floor next to Alex, now conscious, who grabs it and stabs it into Qel’s side, just above his hip. Qel makes one last strangled yell, before he dies. Dave helps Alex up, and Dave, Alex, and Latula stand amidst the ruins of the chaos. Alex heads to Amy.

Alex: Amy…

Amy: Brother…

Amy: I’m not going to make it. We… we knew what the costs would be.

Alex: I had just hoped I wouldn’t have to watch you die.

Amy: What, did you want me to die alone?

Alex laughs sadly.

Alex: You know what I mean.

Amy: Hey.

She grabs his arm.

Amy: You win this one, okay? For me and our families?

Alex nods sadly, and then speaks in a choked voice.

Alex: I will. I promise.

Amy smiles.

Amy: I know you will.

She closes her eyes and utters two last words.

Amy: Thank you.

Then she is gone. Alex stands up, breathing in heavy fractured breaths. A gateway to a long hall appears on the wall, presumably leading to the next section.

Alex: We keep moving.

The three of them walk in silence, Alex leading the way, his head down, and weapon always drawn. When they emerge, they are in some kind of large dome cage with bars and watching spectators.  _ This is the final stage _ , Dave thinks.  _ No doubt about that. _

D o c Scratch: [ This stage is similar to the last one, and in the sense that you have to defeat each other. Kills aren’t necessary, but a winner must emerge. Your wounds will be healed. You can use your powers in this fight, and remember: 3 enter, 1 leaves. Whether the other 2 are dead will be up to you. ]

Dave turns to Latula, and notices that random wounds that he’s had are gone. He can feel his time powers working within him again.

Alex: Here we go.

Dave draws his sword, Latula still has Amy’s shortsword, and Alex draws his sword. They begin to pace in a triangle like shape, all waiting for one of the others to strike. Dave strikes first. He swings his sword at Alex, who just dodges. Latula stabs at him when his guard is down, but he ducks to the side. Alex and Latula begin dueling, and Dave waits for his opening. He finds the moment and freezes Latula in time. Alex turns to him, points his sword, and a stream of darkness shoots out at Dave, knocking him into one of the cage walls. As his concentration breaks, so does the enchantment of Latula, and she sweeps her sword through the air, and cuts into Alex’s arm. A wave of darkness sweeps around his sword, as a green light twirls around Latula’s. When it hits Alex, he is momentarily confused. When Alex hits Latula, she becomes disoriented like she’s having trouble seeing. Dave throws his sword and catches Alex in the shoulder. Latula raises her sword to strike Alex, but he knocks her over with a kick, then kicks her in the face as he gets up. He dodges Dave’s attacks and tackles him. They begin punching and kicking each other, and Alex gets a handhold on Dave’s throat.

Alex: Looks like I have the advantage.

Dave: I… wouldn’t say so… so quickly…

Dave freezes him in time, squeezes out from underneath him, and runs to get his sword. Latula, on her feet again, swings at him with her sword, but he kicks her over and grabs his. She swings at him again, but he sweeps his sword and cuts her sword-hand off. She grits her teeth, and the watching audience cheers, and Alex tackles Dave, pinning him and choking him again. Latula prepares to impale them both one handed with Dave’s sword, but Dave kicks Alex off and catches the sword between his hands when Latula brings it down. He rolls out of the way, and it stabs into the ground while Dave kicks Latula again. He picks up the sword and walks to Alex, pointing it at his throat. He doesn’t want to kill Alex, and he doesn’t want to kill Latula. He lowers the sword, and knocks Alex out with the handle. He goes over to Latula, and points the throat at her throat. He doesn’t want to kill Latula either.

Latula: H4v1ng fun choos1ng?

Dave: not quite.

Latula: Knock1ng m3 out for 4t l34st 4 short wh1l3 qu4l1f13s.

Dave: alright then.

Dave punches her in the face and she goes down, eyes closed. He surveys the field. He seems to have won, and Alex is still unconscious on the ground. Then he hears a rustling and scraping of metal behind him, and he twists around and stabs into Latula. Her hand is near a sword, Amy’s shortsword. She falls. He stops a moment to comprehend what she was really doing while the audience cheers. Was she aiming to kill him? Was she just getting up to take Amy’s shortsword with her when she left? Dave doesn’t know, because what comes next is a blur. He and Alex get fixed of injuries, and Dave becomes Caliborn’s Knight. He and Alex survey the corpses of the other participants. Alkazar, his upper body a pulp. Hagen as a shredded mess. Fremal, headless and bloody. Ilman, a stabbed mess. Tim, a knife through his hand and shoved into his heart. Qel, covered in wounds. Amy, with a shotgun wound in her stomach. And Latula, a large stab wound through her chest. Alex is saying something, but Dave isn’t listening. He’s too busy thinking on the concept of morality as well as one’s mortality.

When he gets home for the day, with all of his wounds magically healed, he gets a message from Terezi on Pesterchum.

gallowsCalibrator [GC] began trolling  turntechGodhead [TG]

GC: FUCK YOU.

TG: I’m sorry

GC: SORRY DO3SN’T CUT 1T, D1D YOU 3V3N TH1NK B3FOR3 YOU K1LL3D H3R?

TG: I had no time to think and my instincts kicked in.

GC: BL4H BL4H BL4H. FUCK YOU 31TH3R W4Y. 1’M GO1NG TO F1ND YOU, 4ND 1’M GO1NG TO K1LL YOU.

TG: terezi, wait.

GC: SHUT UP. 1 C4N G3T P4ST 3V3RYTH1NG. 1’M 4 S33R OF M1ND. 1 KNOW 3V3Y POSS1B1L1TY.

TG: I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry.

GC: 1 S41D SHUT UP. 1 DON’T C4R3. 1’M COM1NG TO F1ND YOU, 4ND 1 W1LL N3V3R 3V3R STOP.

TG: caliborn will protect me.

GC: BULLSH1T. H3’LL JUST HOLD H1S CONT3ST 4G41N.

TG: jesus

TG: you’re right.

GC: GOODBY3 D4V3.

TG: terezi, wait!

GC: </>

gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased trolling  turntechGodhead [TG] at 19:23

TG: shit

TG: oh shit

That night, Dave would not sleep. Nor the night after that. Nor the night after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing about Seers is that they can become blind with vengeance.  
For example, Rose has twice (once upon going Grimdark and once in Game Over) basically gone to her death to attempt to kill someone who killed someone she cared about. Terezi demonstrated that she's incredibly durable whilst vengeful, as Game Over demonstrated. All in all, an angry/vengeful Terezi is not someone you want to mess with.


	13. Void Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John has a flashback, and its also Ro-Lal time

ACT 1

Elsewhere, a troll, a seer, and a man walk the road, and the man thinks back to the day that his secret revolution was discovered and he was nearly assassinated by his own allies. He had just gotten into an elevator with his team, composed of Edgar, a Knight of Breath, Radax, a Rust Blooded Witch of Breath, Daniel, a Mage of Time, Sam, a Page of Time, and Alkaz Toria, a Thief of Time. Radax, his second in command, had called him to let him know that she found something, and that they needed to check it out. He still remembers. He had been suspicious, and had been looking around. Edgar had his hand on his pistol. Then they stopped the elevator, and Trace arrived, escorted by Alice the Sylph of Mind and Ivan the Prince of Mind. Daniel was sweating. Then they stopped again, and Matchsticks came in. The door closed. And John could feel the tension in the room.

John: Before we get started… does anyone want to get out?

Radax grabs him by the throat and shoves him into the wall. The others begin to grab John and restrain him. John punches Ivan in the jaw as he gets close, and pulls out his Pop-O-Matic Vrillyhoo Hammer and slams Edgar into the wall. He swings his hammer, and Alkaz gets his head slammed against the doors. Daniel hits a button, and the elevator stops. Matchsticks punches John and he drops the hammer. Radax uses wind magic to restrain one of John’s hands. He yells as Sam pulls out a knife, and he’s restrained harder and harder. John pushes his magic harder and harder, and turns into air. He flits around his captors’ arms, turns to normal, grabs the hammer, and slams Edgar into the roof of the elevator. He sweeps Daniel and Alice’s heads together. Matchsticks swings a fire extinguisher and John parries it with his hammer. Sam stabs him in the arm, and John slams him in the face with the hammer. He parries another one of Matchsticks’ attacks, and breaks one of his knees with the hammer. He catches Radax in the throat with a tip, then punches Sam when he tries to attack again. He hits Radax again. Alkaz steals time and suddenly John is on the floor, being punched by Alkaz. John punches him in the face and slams him with the hammer. Ivan comes after John, and John slams him into the ceiling with the hammer. Then he spears Matchsticks with the hammer’s pointy tip, and as Trace bites his arm, he slams him in the throat, and the Leprechaun falls unconscious. Radax gets up holding two batons, fizzing with electricity.

Radax: Woah, big guy. I just want you to know John, this isn’t PERSONAL!

Radax slices her attacks at John, which he dodges. John gets smacked in the back when he turns around, and Radax yells again.

Radax: I have my orders!

John knocks the batons out of her hands, and slams her to the ground.

John: Feels personal.

John looks around for where he can escape, and only sees the glass window in part of the window. He smashes the window with the hammer, and jumps out the window, turning to air and flying away. John was pursued relentlessly afterwards by his own team.

Now John is a fugitive, and he travels with Rose and Kanaya through the Land of Wind And Shade, looking for Roxy Lalonde. The land is quiet, and empty except for the blue rocks and oil. Kanaya and Rose talk most of the time, but John is quiet, as he’s been on edge ever since he fled from Caliborn’s capital in the Land of Colours and Mayhem. Apparently Roxy isn’t too far away, in the small village of Asharnol. Which has a population of about 25. John, Rose, and Kanaya creep into the quiet, empty settlement.

Rose: Hello?

Kanaya: Roxy?

A man saunters out of a building, a human with brown hair, black pants and a red shirt.

Man: Hey, welcome to Asharnol, the town killed by plague!

John: What?

Rose: I’m sorry, did you just say ‘killed by plague’?

The man chuckles.

Man: Yep! A little while back, big plague came in,  _ whoosh _ swept away most of the town’s population. We got raided a little while back, so we’re down to just 25 people. I’m craig.

Craig sticks out a hand. John reluctantly shakes it.

Craig: So, what brings you here?

Kanaya: We’re Looking For Someone Named Roxy?

Rose: Roxy Lalonde.

Craig: Roxy? Hmm. Yeah, I know Lalonde. I’ll take you to her.

Rose: Thanks.

Craig leads the other three down the quiet and empty street. He stops at a boarded up house with a door hanging open.

Craig: I should warn you, she’s uh, pretty weird.

Rose: We’ve got some personal stuff, could you please leave Craig?

Craig: Righto! Call me if you need me!

Craig wanders off, humming, and the group turns to the house. Rose opens the door fully and walks inside. Kanaya follows, John taking up the rear. The house is messy in some places, clean and tidy in others. The walls are scrawled in strange writings in eldritch text and mad ravings. Ravings such as “THEY SEE ALL”, THEY ARE WATCHING IN THE DARK”, “CANDY COATED REPRESENTATION”. John doesn’t know what’s with the last one.

Rose: Hello?

Silence. And a shuffling from one of the rooms. Rose, John, and Kanaya stand at the door to it, and cautiously open it. A bed lies upturned, and scrawlings on the wall say “FURTHEST RING”, “THOSE AREN’T SHADOWS”, “MANIFESTATIONS IN THE DARK”, “THE NOBLE CIRCLE”, and “HORRORTERRORS”. A girl sits in the center of the room, wearing dark blue pants, and a dark blue sweater with a pulled up hood. She looks up, and before she can react, Rose slams her into the wall, holding her by the throat. She grits her teeth but speaks as calmly as she can.

Rose: Hey Roxy.

Rose: Long time no see, eh?

Roxy makes a strangled gurgle.

Roxy: So, you’ve come for revenge?

Rose: What do you fucking think, I’ve come to make up with you for driving me insane for three months? I don’t even know what the hell I’ve been doing!

Roxy: Serving Horrorterrors.

Rose: BEYOND THE OBVIOUS!

Rose tightens her grip.

Rose: All that stuff is still in my head, and it pries at me every minute.

Rose: Tearing at me.

Rose: Consuming me.

Rose: A̵͍̣̩̰̾̒̒̑̂̋͑͒̚ṇ̷̥͍͓̏̓̔͛͌̈́́̏̌̈́͘͝ͅd̵̖̣̤͉̮̣̯̺̝̉͑͊͒͑̇̓̀̆̅̇̍͜͠ ̷̬͇͍̒̌̏̌́̈́̈́̒̑̈́̌͠Î̴̡̨̧͚̭͈̲͓͇̜̰̼͎̮̮͑̽̈́͋͛̕͠ '̸̧͙̻͔͓̀̾ͅm̴̘͙̰̣̖̦̳̈̀͑̽̈́̌̋̅̕͝ ̶̨̹͇͕͎̱͔͋s̶̞͇̖̟̭͒̃̇̀͜c̵̯̭͔͕̣̪̝̩̩̠͛͐̋͛̅̈́̓̓͑͌̈́͘̚͝ͅä̸̳̮̳̦̼̰͔̯͚͓͚́͌̅̂̓r̴̩̖̼̯͍̤̞̤͂̈̉͛̓̑̉ę̵̯͍̫͚̥͙̞̜͕̤̉̑̅̾͊̔͐̄͋̈́̕͝d̷̳̙̭̻̭̥̉͂̌͒̋͋̀̒̈́.

Roxy chuckles.

Roxy: You think that you’re the only one scared? I̶̛͉̰̝̭͇̥̺̪̲̒̐̃͆͋̂̋̚ ̵̫͓͈̞͎͕̩̲͓̹̰̏̂̓̎̍̇̏̇̅͛̌͆̅̀̍ͅä̶̧̡̤͎̝̞͍̤̞̞̪͈́̿͆̓̐̒̈́̉͐̚͠m̵̧̨͙̭̞͎̖̑͂̀̿̏̅͊̅ ̶̨̧͚̮̜̝͇̹̤̬̺̖͇̈́̈́̀̉̋̚͠ṯ̸̻͎̥̅̾̅͛̎̆̾͂̑̌̾̾̚͠͠o̴̧̝̭̲̹̻͔̪͖͙̼͇͐̾̀͋̽̀̋͘͠͠ŏ̷͔͓̼̟͔̖͝.̶̡̩̫̬̟̹͓͎̲͓̰̾̆͗͆͋̍̒

Rose chuckles.

Rose: Yeah, right.

Roxy: You don’t know what it’s really like. The nights not slept. The terrors in your brain. The hours of them in control instead of you. You think a few months with them in control is bad? Try a few years. Why do you think I got worse and worse until I turned on you?

Rose: Bullshit.

Roxy: The truth. Why would I lie? I’m at your mercy. But I’ve been at their mercy for longer. We’re both the victims here.

Rose loosens her grip on Roxy’s throat.

Roxy: Most don’t fall willingly. Only two have, and one of them is dead. The other is somewhere close, yet far. But that’s not important. I’m sorry Rose. I truly am.

Rose drops her grip. She thinks for a moment, but she understands.

Rose: Me too.

The Rogue of Void and the Seer of Light embrace in forgiveness, while the Sylph of Space and the Heir of Breath look on and don’t interfere. And somewhere, the Muse of Space and Heir of Void, the only willing Horrorterror convert, Equius Zahhak, trek towards the village of Asharnol, hunting his prey by the whispers of the Horrorterrors. He’s lost Rose’s grimdark trail, he’s got faint ones from her, John, and Kanaya, and now he’s following Roxy’s trail, which is a particularly strong and a perfect contributing factor. The Horrorterrors whisper to him.

T̵̢̧̛̛̫̼̹̯̹̲̮͈̜̗̿̏͗̿̀͐͗̉̚ͅr̵̭̩̘̥̘͗̈́̉͒͒͠͠ā̶͈̘̳̣͈͈̾͛͑͜͝ͅc̶͖͛̔e̴͍͂͌̂͌̀̈́̌̂̏̀͝ ̴̦̪̹͍̥̣͔̐̾̅̊̎̌̋̆͋̔̕͘͠ẗ̷̨̛̲͕̘̻̯̖̓͌̾̏ͅh̷̢̙͙̠͉̜̩̝̥̠͔̜̞͎͑̐͊̐̽̍̑̒̒̓͐̏ë̶̛͓͇̪̺̀̂͒̎͐̚͠ ̵̭̼͇͍͎̠̫̀v̷̨̞̙̳̦̻̠̻̺̂̋̈̔͂̾̈́̈́́̓̿̽͑͘͜ô̵̼̠̦̘̬̳̝͍̻͖͕̌̿̆͗̀͐̓̿̉͜͝ȉ̴̢̳̞̥̭̱͙̪͔̈́͊̊ͅḑ̷͇͖̈̒͊̓̈̔͌̐̓̍͘͝ ̸̲͔̱̼̖̺͙̝̠̬͕̲̯̰̤̔̈́͌̔͊̄͆̾̂͛̎̚g̵͙̣̺̺̦̼͔̩͚̩̥̦̅͋͗͠i̵̢̧̖͎̦̅̐̆̇̓͜r̶̯͙̖̮̦̅̍̈́̽̉̄̒̂̌̚̕̕͠l̷̰̣̗͇͓̩̯̰͎̩͚̲̉͐̄́͘͠ ̴̨̥̠̜̪̗͕̪̫͉̦̰̄̏̀f̷̨̡̧͉̺͈̼̝̙͔̣̭̉͌͛̅̌͒o̴̡͍̰̬̠̼̗͙͖̻̦̾̈̊͆̒ͅr̷̛̳̩̆̓̽̽̎̃̑͊͌͘ ̶̧̥͖̾̆̇͂͗̾̀̆̉̒͝h̶̝̥͕͎̜̜̭̑̒̄ͅe̷̢̧̜̬̺̗̜͓̠̘̹̥͔͎̠͗͆̕͝͠r̴̻͈͓̖͇̪̲͔̿̓̉́͒͌̕̚̕ ̶̨̡̛̲͚̺̺̫̮̳͕͉̰̫̔̃̈́̀̃̈́̚͝ṣ̶͖̦̲͔̆͛͒͊͋͐̄̍̅͝͝į̴̮̬͙̮̟̟̝̻̜̲̓̀͐̂̈̉͛͌͐̈́̕͜s̴̛͔̈́͊̎̓̆̉͘̚͝t̵̳̠̯̩̹̦͚͍͓̣͈̭̅e̸̹̥̮͍̣̐̑͐̊͗̐̆̾̈͜r̸̟̙̭̠͍̱̫̤̦̓̋̆͊͊͑̋͒͛͌̃̏̃.̷̡͈̯͎͇̭͔͓͈̪̭̱̪̟͋̆̈́̍̅̓́̌͘̕͜͝ ̸̛̙͇̩͕͙̬̣̲̟̞̭̫̏͛̒͂̕̕̚̕͜͠K̷̨͓̪̜͓̹̤̯͖̫̫̯̈́̑̋į̵̤͙̟̳̬̞̻̺̗͓̟̮̀͆͒̂͐̄̅l̷̨̙͕̩̦̥̲͕͌̉̉͑̑̐̃͗̃̐́̕l̵͈̝̉̉͒̋̔͗̏̒̆͋̽͒͝ ̷̰̗̞̯̤̝̟͆̇̓̎͑̈̿̽͗͌͐̑̕ͅt̸̬̰̙͓͐̾̈́̃͒̏̾̌̽͠͝h̵̡̨̛̗̗̙̲̲̪̅̊͊̎̋͛̋̊͂̄̕̕e̶̡̦͕͌͛̈́͝ ̵̡̹̼̱͉̱̓̋̚̕s̸̡̨̲̣̅̐̈̔̄̍͜p̸̪̣̦͙̣̝̙̩͓͇̪̞͔͎͖̈́̽͒̄̓̓͑̿͘͝͝͝â̶̢͎̫̰̞̣̎͌̄̍͑̄̔̕c̷͓̲͚̠̪̔͊͐̄̊̇̈́̌̌͊̕͘̕͘͜ê̸̯͙͓̱̮̥̪ ̶̢̨̢̨̧̭͍̰̟͍̙͇͕̽̕w̴̛̬̥͍͚͕̹͈̱͓̥͌̐̎͌̔̔̌͗͌̌̈́̕͝ơ̵̛͇̬̇͋̂̽̈̑̈̌̆̓̊̅͜m̶̱̥̜͇͐̌̓̈́̈́̾͂̇̅͝a̴̢̢̫̥̫̟̖̫̭͓̖̳̼͗͜ņ̷͚͔̭͚͙̼̯̱̗̏̒͒͋͗̚̚͝ͅͅ ̷̙̮͎͖̪̭͍̟̣͚͇͙͙̰̾͐͛̉̾͗̌̕̕̚͜a̴̘̩̞͑n̴̻̩͚̣̠̙͑̓͊̓͛̏͗͝d̶̮͕̤̉̓̇̌͒̏̾͆̋͆̌͛͗̎̕ͅ ̵̛̩̒̏̿͋́̅̉̈̎̅͘͠ ̵̙̑̅͑̀̍̌͗̇̅̏̈́́́̽͗b̶̬͈̘̝͍͚̣̬̀̽̆̔́̒̐̈̈́͑͐͌̅ȩ̷̡̡̬͈̞̖͕̯̫͋̔̂̍̑͐̐͋̈́̋̇̎̕͘ ̶̳̟͚͙͔̥̹̻̆̎̚͠č̷̛̛͔̥̮͈̮̰̺͒̅̎̀́̃͋͠a̴̛̯͖̫̻̖͔̗̓̿͗̾͌̀̉̒r̴̨͉̠̱̃͗̈́͜ê̵̲̗̭̠͇̯̱͎̤̳͈f̷̨̮̻̭̲̜͖̖̥̭͖̘̪͑̓̈͒̓̿̒̎͗͆͝͝ư̵̖͔͔̳͙̘̈̋̈́̂̍̊l̴͓͖͍͉͍̩̄̅̊̅̈̔̑͑̆̀͌͑̐͐͜͜͝ͅ ̴̰̰̽̅̇͆͑o̵̡̜̹͎͔̻̟̻̖͌͛́̑̂͑̉̍̚͝f̵̢̢̩̥̬̟͙͎̙̉͛̍͘ͅ ̸̧̨̡̧̡̛̞̲͓̞̜̻͙̬͊̍͊̐͝ẗ̵̛͈̼͈̦̭̳̠͕̹͔̫̺̻͔̈́̏͋̾͒̐͊̇̇͑̈́h̷̯͋̌̓̿̈͘͠e̵̢̧̬̼̖̦͓͓͕̤͍͎̟͔̅̀̔ͅ ̶̳̮̝̭̦͂͐̈̑͊͐͐̿͜b̷̯͍̪̈́ǫ̵͎̭͚̖͗͗͌͐̅̅̂͝y̶̹̅́̾̈́̀̋̑̂̃͝͝.̷̜̫̝̔̔ ̷͚̱͛͗̆͐̑͛K̴͓͇͇͍̠̝͕̫̗̤͑͐͛̿̆̏̿̄̉̈́͑̈́͂̚̚į̶̛̜̽̾͛̅̈̐͛͝l̴̳̦͇͓̹̺̹͙̋̈́͗l̵̨̝̒̒͒̂̒̊̍̏̈́̕ ̸̬̩̞͖̍̎̆̃̍̂͆̽͐̒̔̊̚͝h̷̞̘͕̰̠̖͖̋̾̀́̒i̴̠̩͒͌̉̉̀̀̆m̷̡̾͑͗̽͋ ̷͎̲͕̲͖̭̎͐̐̄͛͛͘͝q̷̝̯̪͔̯̼͂́̆̄̎́͌̀͆̚͘̚͠u̷̎͛͂̃ͅị̸͍͚̙͒̑̈́̏̏̽̈̈́̏̃̑͊̇̕͝c̵̟̯̩̮̹̝̳͚̫͔͍̠̲̈́̑̏̋͂̈́̔̒͂̅̕͜͝ͅk̴̜̩̘̣͓͓̝̲̼̍̊͑̈́̀̿͛̓̑l̷̫͖̏͑̔̈̑̒̑̅͆͌y̴̡̺̦̟̟̦̲̦̖̯̻̖̩̑̈́͒͐͆͜ͅ.̸̛̛͎̬̱͍͈̟̻̭͓͇͎̻̈́̓̈́̓͐͗̚͝ͅ ̵̢͉͔̘̣̻̰͇͈̖̜̗̳̎̆̑̔͗̓͂͘͠͠ͅS̸̨̮̩̦̣͈̠̯̱̖̠̻̜̊̕͜ͅę̸̛̝̣͇̗̠͕̘̪̬̭̫̱̂͊͑̅̓̋͐̽n̶̨̟̮̖͙̖̳͔̠͝d̶̠̲͊̈́ ̶̧͇̹̮̪̉͂͒̂̔͑͂̈́̊͘̕͠ḩ̶̘͎̬͔͚̠͈̰͉͛͛̿̑̓ͅị̸̧̧̢̨̳͓̭̦̯͈̬̖͗̂̇͌̈́̈́͌͘̕͝͠͝s̶̡̫̞͇͔͉̝̱̠̻̃͊̽ ̸̡͈͕͕͇͉̙̥̦̝͓̒̌̎̿̽̈́̑̈́̃͛͆͝͠c̴̜̬̺̣͓̘̫̯̬̜̥̅̆̌͒ŏ̷̡̡̨̧̡͖̯̥̯͔̻̰̺͎̤͐̈́͝r̴̢͖̰͇̾̋̀̏̇̕ͅṕ̷͈̝̤͈̯̂̈́̈̂͝͠ͅs̶̢͉̼̰̆̓̋̿͒̕͜ė̵̼̬͔͎̘̲̉̍̓̈́͌̈́͗̈̄͊̚͠͝ ̶̨̧̳̣̘̬͉̲̼͓̫̼̓̈́̍͘ͅţ̶̢̘̱̗͈̬̘̬̲̔̈́̃o̶̲̗̟̬̳̖̱̱̒̀͘̕̕͜ ̸̤͙̈̋̅̑t̶̩͇̀́̔̍̆̐͂̊̕͝͠h̴̗͓̙̩͚͍̠̭͎̟̀̐̈́̒e̸̜̒̅͐̾̅̈́ ̷̧͙̳͚̞̤̇̈́L̵͓̘̺̺͚͕̟̍̓́͑͝ͅo̷̢̡̞̜̘͍̲̹̠͇̗̊̊̈́͆̅͝r̵̘͇̜̈́̍͐̚͘͘̚͘d̵̟̩̘̞̱̥̼̳̀̊́̉̿͆̓̓́̿͝ ̵̡̝̹̣̦̦͐̇̍͆͠͝͠o̸̙̤̟̖̹̭͕̲̹̖͑͊́͋͜f̶̻̜̓̾͌̆̚͝ ̴̰̱̰̜̱̰͈͍͋̉ͅT̴̰́̾̐͒̒͌͒͜i̵̧̜̲̼̜̹̊͐m̴̡̤̹̭̩̻̊̿͗̾̔̽͒̀̓͘e̷̢̡͉͓͈̪̻̜̕.̶̢̜̩̈́̉̊̾ ̶̢̨̨̯̖̙̳̬͙͉͉͎͐͆̈́̄̀̃͑̚͝ͅG̶͓̮̭͕͙̅͒͒͒̉̚ã̵̛̬̥̳̺͙̩͎͇̗͙̬̣̍͒̃̓̆̎̒̚͜ͅi̶̡̧͕̗̙̘͈̺͉̗̤͎̒̔̐͐̂͂̀̌͂͛̎̑̚͠n̴̢̨̛̜̳̹̤̳̦̳͔͚̾͆͂͠ͅ ̵̢̲͙̫̖͖̠̘͎̳̣̩̮̑͌̍̉͑͒͑͆̾̈́̕͠ͅẖ̷̢̞̟̦̾̍̿͆̈̕̕̚į̴̜̖̤͚̖̖͋̄̇͛̂͊̌͐̇̆̎́̕̚͝ͅš̴̨̮̣͚̠̮́̽̆̒̑́̈́̃̔͂̇ ̶̢̨̲̟̱̞͎̱̯͚̻̥̾̇̊̋̑̅̕͝f̵̦̣͍̯̎̂á̶̻͔͈̩̩͙͇̲̟̟̠̋̇͌͌̋͒v̴̢̗̹̬̯͖̻̝̲͈̄͋̀o̷̧̖̗̻̰͇͈͋̐̅͂͋͐͋͘͝͝r̴̦̀̄͌̍ ̵̩̩̜̠͊͋̒̃̒̌̌͑͜a̵̪̺̦̪̝͈̾̃̾̈́̋̉n̷̡͙͎͚̫̻̜̯̣̜̟͍̥̉̏͋͊̄̚d̵̡̨̠̤̼͈̪̩̟̻̟̣̯͊̉͗̓͌͆̈́̿̇̕ͅ ̶̺͈̞͒́̓̏̇͘͝k̴̤͚̒̒̈͝i̴̧̢̨̳̞̖̟̗͚͖̮̐l̴̜̘̜̝̘͕̦̪̰̓̉̔͐͛̾̽́͛͒͝l̴̨̛̛͇̳̯̯̫̞͆̌̿̐̈́͒͆̈͆ͅ ̵̞̠̱̎̊͛́̎̔̿̏̏͗̓͊͜͜͠͠t̷̢̬̲̹̪͉̹̳̦̝̠̮̎͜h̴̹͖͖͎̗̜̱̭̺̰͚̠͒̽̿͌̑̅̎̽̕e̸̛̩̍́̌͂̃̔̏̉͊̏̾͂͝͝ ̴̞̲̳̟̘͖͖̣̥͈͉̇͗̚s̴̻͚̜̉͑͌̈́͒̚͝͠i̷̛͖̼̖͇̿̓̓̊̋̂̅s̶̪̪̭͎̬̥͐͋̔̿͌̓͛̈̓͌̕̚̚͝͝t̴̨̩̪̜̞̘̏̆̔͊e̸̬̬̣̲̮͇̝̭̎̈́̇̈́̊̃̉r̸̭̤̎̈́̌̀͆̓̄͌̔̔̓͘͝.̶̢̡͉̙̜̥̜̣͗͌ͅ ̶̛̺̰̬͕̀̓͊̾̉̐͒̋͊́̂̇̕̚V̵̨̥̮̥͎̝͖̥͑͊̄͆̈́͝ờ̵̘̠̘̟͍̫̖̖͒́̈́̽͊̽͜į̵͙̱̠̺̔̇̐̾d̸̖͑̃̒̈́̄̈́̋̂̃̚ ̴̛͇̱̰s̸̡̨̛̹̺̩̯̈͌̅̐̄̃̈̿͒͘͠͝h̶̝͕̍̽̌͌ạ̸̦̓̄̐̇̓͝l̴͕̥̍l̶͉̤͖̆̉̌ ̸̨̧̡̝̞͉̞̘͉̼͎̲̌̓̿̊̊̍͑͐͌̒͊͠͝t̶̙̪̠̓̌̿̽r̸̟̩̄̅͠i̸̼̭̬͐̃̓̃̽͗̅̂̐̈̈͊̈́̓̃u̸̜̦̟̮̪͕̺͆͜m̷̧͙̙̤̖̞̮̩͈̣̗̠͆̃̍̿p̷̙͙̙͈̞̼̞͚͙̲͕̹͈͑̃͂̈h̷̬͍̗̗͔̦̀̒̽̚̚ͅ ̶͔̫̼̆͝a̴̧̡̛͙̞͖̥̓̋͗̅̔̓͆͒̃̓͆͜͜͠n̷̢̢̫̲̘̳͇̮̲̳͙͋̈͑̓͒͗̏̅́͋̊ͅď̵̛͖͇̇̀̇̆̎͝ ̴̛͚̟͙̮̪͉̘̮͖̹̽̂̈̅̆͗̑́̈́͛̐l̵̡̻̪̗̯̺̰̖͉͙̪̗͖̀̈́̍̄̈́͐̃̎̾̽͊̕̚̕ͅi̵̗̊͒̀̆̽̇͋͊͛g̸̤̫͙̱͌̋̾͌̇͐̑͂͝h̷͈͈̥̩̰̼̱̮̙̭͕̺̻̪̺̃͆̎t̴̢͇̹͚̓̈͒̚͜ ̷̹̥͉̹̪̼̳̗͉̟̾̃̾͊̒̈́͑s̸̨͓̫̦̩̫̘͖͍̞̲̝̪̣͕̅̉̾͊̌̿̾͑͑̅̕ẖ̴̨̢̧̦̱̼̥̩̐̏̏ͅa̶̠̱̗̯̪͉̱̪̼̤̺̬̳̟̰̿͌̔͐̃̊͑͒̕l̵͚̄͛̅ͅl̵̨̨͓͕̞̼͖̥̹̙̦̫̝͐̄̌̍̂͋̓ ̷̖̲̼̮̹̰̟͐͐̌f̸͇̮̜̼͔̠̹̪̹͊̃͌̃̋͆̉͜͠͠à̷̡̺̣̩̻̤͕̖̯̻̮͇̮l̷̨͕͖̞̝̥̻̥̼̈́̿̈͊̂̊̉̈́̏̋̍̓͠͠l̸̡̡͇̻̰̻̹̩̼̬̜̃̋͂.̷̯͍̯͎̇̎̃̈́́̍͊̋̈͐̍̕ ̶͔̘̘͖̣̭̞̽̍͆̊̇̿̄͆͆͑͝L̴̥̼̬̮̯̦͎̏́̏̂̌̆̃̂̚͜͜͝ͅè̷̼̓͑̌͂̐̓̋͗̂͌͑̉̉̚ä̴̡̰͕̪͖̞͉͙̱̭̮͓̣́͑̈͌̏̎͐̾̃̿̾͘̚̚͜͝v̵͚̺̭͇̟̯̬͔̪̯͉͌̂̊̈́̽͆̐̏̀̿͜͝e̶̯̝̥̱͉̝͉̝̐͂͑̈́̃͗̈́̆͗̊͘͝ ̸̥̮̥̭͍͈̔̉͊̽̌̉́͋͊͘͠t̷͍̖̻̠͔̉̏̑͑̄̄͌̿ͅẖ̶̨̧̛̺̣̻̮̘̮͉̰͛̑̍̋̆̔̏́̈́̓͝͝ë̷̛͔̙̲́͂̏ ̸̘̻̝͓͂̊̾̔͊̿̍̈́̂̽̕v̸̢̙̮̦͍͓͕̮̤̝̤̯̥̭͗̎̀͐ͅǫ̴̡̨̧̧̨̦̖̹̩͇͓͙̈́̾̀͑͗̿̂̓̃̎̉i̶̛̙̼̹͎̙̩̮̋͐́̀̅̂͝d̷͓̯̞͑̋̋͗͌̆͠ ̵̡̢͕͈̱̩͕͔̝̥̰̯̽̈́̔̀̅̓͗̏͑͆̑g̶͎͕̰̙̣̣̃̿̑̎̅̒̅̏̅̇͝ȉ̴̛̖͔͔͙̤͉̊̍̈́̂̉͜r̸̛̠͔̩͉͕̲̹̖͉͈̲̔̔̋́̓̋͒̆́̀̔̚l̵̨̡̜̭̜̐̃͛͒̋́͂̈́͘ͅ ̶̢̤͆̽̈̈́́̾̈́͌͌͒͘ͅt̸̛̤̜̙̐̍͗̽̌̈́̃̍̈́́̀̑͝o̷̧̪͈̣̥̮̦͖̪̺̣̮̍̄͐̾͒͛͌͗̾̚ ̴̡̼̤͈̱͈̟͕̖̳̝̹͓̍͊͒́͒̓ͅų̵̛̟͙͚̌̄̉͌͒̇̎̌̑̂͘s̷̱̈̋͂̐̓̈̈́̍̊̕͝.̸̧͔͐ ̵̢̢̛̯̝̖͈̖̗̲͈͍̩͎͎͕̀̇͑̅̿̔̄̋̓͂̾͝I̸̢̧̛̽̓̍̈́̓̀̀̇̅̄̑͝f̶̨̫͇̮͖̹̳͋̓͋̐̽̏̓̇̄͘͠͝ ̶̲̠͓͈̊̏̌ạ̴̥͕̜̮͇͂̃͛͌̒̾̉̅̉͑͘ļ̶̢͔̠͔̅̂͑̆̋l̶͓̰̠̘͉̙͂̉ ̸͈̈́̂͐̀̚͜ė̶̛̥̇̐́͑l̵̞̣͈̈́͑͌̚͝ͅş̴̨̬̼̱̰͈̯͔̯̾̇̊̇̈̄͒̏̿̓̾̚ẻ̶̙̗͈͙͎͉̏͑͂̋̀́̈́͝ͅͅ ̵̜̦̭͚̞̣̩̺̱̲͈̃̿̃̆̓̀͋̒̈̕f̷̧̪̩̤̣̜͉͐͌̉͜ą̷̫̪̭̊̀̂̄̅͛̋͂̂̀̂̿̕̚͜͜͠ͅì̷̱̿̉͋̿̎̈́̍͑̌̽̂͘͝ĺ̷̢̫̺̩̗̬̈́͒̉s̴̢̜̬̺̦̟̩̀́̇́̓̆̕͘͝ ̵̮̺̤̺͍̘̑a̵̺͕̬̳̥͈̪̜̙͈͛̍̓͑̓͝n̵̡̙̥͙͉̠̬̺̝̬̎̈͊̄̓͆͒͒̐̒̍͜͠͝ͅͅď̵̟͔̖͇̜͇̝̤̭̘͔̓̚ ̴̩͔͔̙̮̿̅͌͑̂͜ÿ̶̨̱͓̪̪͍̗̜͙̲̳͙̬́̆̊͂̑̏̿͛̍̆̊̉͗͠o̴̧̦̱̮͍̝̱͂̌̓̆͑́̃̀͝͠u̸̧͖̙̩̙̭̫͊͊ ̷̛͕͚̭͚͍̻̤̱̫̠̤̩̼̹̎̾͆͐̒̈́̔̌̅͜ć̴̡̢̧̖͙͓͓̙͙̻͚̹̦̭̔̃̔̑̍̊̿̈́a̴̪͍̹͇̤̺͈̩̥͔̎̑̃͊̈́͑̃̆̔̿̿̽̃́̕ņ̴̠͉̗͎̜̙͒͑̿̿͑͐̈́͘ń̵̲̙͚͍̯̄̀̋̄̈̃̆͑͐͝͝ơ̵̩͇̝̪̜̝͓̺̖̞͖̼̪̯̂̑̂̈́̄͑͂ͅţ̸͖̼̬̼̗̳̥͉̒̾̆̔̓̌̑͠͠ ̶̧̨̢̰͕͔̗̞̅̃̏̀k̴̙̮̘̻̰̻͕͓̅͜ȋ̴͇͓̩̳̯̠̦͓͌̌̆͂͆̽͌͗͂l̶̥̬̼̍͆͊̽̉̐̿͘͝͝l̷̢̛̤̘̥̳͕̬̖̱͖͇͔̦̰̋̈́͒̅̅̌̐̽ ̵̛͔̗̩͇̦̗̤̗̤̋̏̌̈́̍̌̎̈́͜͠͝ý̵̢̧̤̮͎͇̖̞̞̘̝̀̋̓͑́̈́͊̊̔̕ö̸̳̜͙̩̺͇̻͙͎̩͖̆̇̑͊̓͘ͅu̷̳̍r̴̪͔͈̹̬̒̆̆̅͋̒ͅ ̵̬̝̄̚͠͠f̴̢̭͍̯̻̙̼̠̩̋̇̔͆ǫ̸̛̛̻͔̻̻̱̼͇̜͇̝͚̝͚̐͗̔̂̆̔̆̇͝ę̶̢̡̩̦̭̟͚̘̹͑̾̓͛͜ş̵̡͕̱̟̬̳͔͒́̒̋͜,̴̱͔͕̈́̒́͛͊ ̷̧̧̢̻̲̳͚͇̦̿͗̊s̷̨̛̳̖͚̫̣̠̟̜̬̼͇͒̓͋̐͐̄̊̆̔̚͘u̵̧̪̲̮̯̳̜̫̜̍b̶̗̹̳̒̌̊̽͒̔m̸̢̌̾̄̃̏̽̅͂̍̑͛̂͒į̷̫͎̞̘͚̰͕̬͍̼̳̘͒͒͛͌͑͒͒̚t̷̞͚̞͈͖͕̭͔̳͌̂͜͜ ̸̛̗̍̈́̚ȳ̴̦̤̣̳̭̞̖̮̖̦̜̹̲̎̉͛͋͆̿̎̏͐͠͠o̶͓͚̮̳͎̒̍͊͂͠ü̵̡̗̻̯̪̲̙͎̱̬̪̔͐̆̽ŗ̴̡̹̻̠̜͎̹̬̩͔̥̥̹̮͐̊͂s̴̼̱̤͔̗̮̮̈́͜e̵̢̮̫̟̩̞̮̱̰͓͆̀̐͑̈̓l̴͈͚̥̪̘̓͛̃̓͋͒͊̒̐͗̇̕ͅf̵̢̢͉̤̩̰͈̥͚͚͖̯̲̐̍̾̋͒͛̈ ̵̗̩̠̭̿͛̋̆̄̿̚t̴̛̖̏͑̓͌͐̃́̔͐̿̐̕o̸̢̨̰͖̫̲͎͚̝͎͚̰͛͘͜ͅ ̷̨̨̙̳̤͔̯̘̑̅̿͆̏̏̅͋̈̇̅͜ų̷̞̪͓͎̭̖̣̮͖͗̇̔̏͂̚ͅs̷͖̼̩̊͊͐͂̈́ͅͅ ̶̢̣͙̞͉̣͍̱͍̲̦̂̈͘͝a̶̡̧̙̻̳͈͓̦̟̐̋̓͌̓͐̌͆̋́͜͜͝ͅn̸̛͉̹̆̽̒͑̅̆͑͑͌̚͘͠͝d̶̗̣̜̂̋͆̅̿̾̾͒̌̒̅͝ ̸̡̹̤̤̮͍̖̱̗͍̦̫͊͂̋͑̃̏̾̐̊̾̅̇̚͘͘͜ģ̶͍͓̗͕̘̱̤̪͖͇͖̲̤̃̾̅̃͝ạ̵̛̰̘̯̇̋̍̑̎͌͛̾̓̃̒̎͊̚i̶̢̜̥͔̲̹̭͈̜̫̝̗̝̐̈̓̔͜͝n̴̨̨̡̹̠̰͓̞̼̺̹͇̬͖̦͋̍̓̔͊̽̏̕͠ ̷̧̛̬̟̞̘̪̱͈̩̫̪͉͂̉͒̎́̆̚̚̚̕͠͝͝ṯ̷̡̗̣̰̽̿̒̑h̵̫͍̗̺̻̻̝͍̳̣͓̟͋ͅẻ̵̡̢̻̣̼͒̓͐͑̚͜͠ ̷̡̝̘̮͉̝̼͎̰̤̙̤̣̇ņ̸̧̨̧̬̗̜̫̟͔͖̹͚̈̓͌̄̔͐͝ͅĕ̶̢̛̖̟̙̰̪̝̜̏͐̏c̵̡͔̩͓̝̘̮͇͍̝͇̙͙͗͑̃̈́̑̑̿͐̐͘ͅe̵̡̨̧̹͖̩̳̘̩̲̙͉̱̍͜ͅs̵̡̮̟͐̅̑͗͝s̸̢̱̱͎͖̯̯͓̼̮͗͗̀͜͝a̶̧̠͚̜̭̖̺̦̬̞͚͚͊̊̀̇͆̑͌̋̔̇̕͝͠͝ͅr̷̫̻͍̦̮̜̦̓͐̎̈́͂̑̒̀̂̑̍͐͝͝y̶̢̢̫̭̲̲̩̠̖͎̜̪̓̿̍͑̓͛̌̊ ̷̡̢̙͇͔̗̤̯̯̮͍͇̦̼͒̃͗̈́̎͘̚ͅp̶̧͎̮̝̪̞̽o̶͉̩̯͍͖̙͙̼̫̹͕̒͛̌̎́w̶̨̢̧̡͉̘̰̞̪͍͔͎̫͛͐̋̈́̐̎̑̍͑͊͋͒̉͝e̴̡̢͓̯̐̽͋͑̋̊r̴̬̗̈́̃̆̐̀̎̒̇͘͜s̵̙̻̩̖̥̅̄̈̓̽̄͗̕ͅ.̷͙͔̄̂̋ ̶̢̧̛̝͇̫͍͙̫͓̈Ẃ̵̟́̄̅̂͐̂̓̍̄̉͒̕̕e̷̩͕̘͈̥̗̦͎̗̣͕̺͛̿̾͒͑̉̐̿͐̇̔̈́̽̕͠ ̷͓̻̫̣͔̬͉̤̓͗̃̆̉͆̎̇͠ẅ̵̡̧̧̨̧̛͉̯̘̩̺͎̥͔̼́͒̓̿̾̂i̷̧̢̨̦̫̱̦̤̥̟̤̙͌͐̈́͋l̸̛̬̽̈́̓̌̿̿͝ļ̴̨̨͇̞̥͙̩̬̱̜́ ̴̧͉̺̙̯̭̣͈̠̐̓̏̀̾͋̚͝b̴̡͍̙̟̦̠̣̺̟͖̥͌̈̍̀̋̄́̅̕̚͘e̷̳̮̥͓̬̘͉̓̃̎͊̎̓̑ ̵̢̨͍̪͚̩̠̙̼͒̓́̎̿̄̄͂̒͘͠͠͠͠ͅw̴̛̱̯̖ą̸̡̡̡̻͎̩͓̘͇̥̻̠̒̀̍̀̂̈͆̔̾̌̏̎̉͂ḯ̸̻͕̥̻̼̭̦̰̮͎̦̜̃̿͊͘͠͝t̴̪̩́́ĩ̵̦̮͌̓̊͆̉͂͋͌n̷̹̥̠̹͈̪̗̈́̏̽̍̃͌g̷̞͖͔̃͗͑̈́̊̉̔̊̓̒͗͘.̷͍̰̓͝

Equius thinks about what the masters have said, and he and Calliope advance over a ridge and he sees Asharnol. He’ll need to lose Calliope. But he can do that when the time comes to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, a not-so-subtle reference right at the start!


	14. LODAG

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meenah stuff

ACT 1

Across a sea of rain and amidst a sea of grass, a castle sits in an armoured glass bubble. Within that castle, the ruler undergoes the standard morning ritual. Jane Crocker wakes up Meenah Peixes, other servants get her food ready, she goes over important documents, and days of important events, sets out to the city of Wrath and Angels in a convoy of five cars. Two Humvees, a Jeep, and a pair of supply trucks. Jane switches from casual maid to killing machine. Cronus is left to protect the castle with his son Eridan, Feferi is left to rule, and Jake stays the royal page sitting in the castle. Today, while Meenah sits in the passenger seat of a humvee, and Jane drives, something will happen. Something predetermined by the hands of Fate and Corruption, the destroyers of all.

Meenah: on another excursion into the city. more important paperwork.

Jane: It’s not that bad.

Meenah: easy for you to say you don’t run things around here.

Jane: No, but I do protect the person who runs things around here, and I think you should listen to second opinions more often.

Meenah: I don't generally like to. it is my kingdom.

Jane chuckles.

Jane: Ok. You’re the boss.

Meenah: that I am.

A sudden explosion of one of the supply trucks causes Jane to jolt and hit the brakes to avoid hitting the wreckage in front of them. Shrapnel flies through the clearing, a few bits through the windshield, ricocheting off the walls.

Meenah: Jegus, what the shell?

Jane: Holy shit!

Shouts can be heard as the other vehicles stop. Gunfire rings out, and Jane can hear familiar voices shouting orders and comments.

Corporal Jim: We need birds in the air, now!

Private Connor: Where the hell did those gunners come from!?

Private William: Doesn’t matter, just shoot them!

Jane checks to see if Meenah is alright. Fuschia blood leaks from a wound in her stomach. Meenah groans in pain.

Meenah: I had a Eeling I shoald’ve stayed home.

Jane: Meenah’s been hit, we need dustoff asap!

Private William: Yeah, if we can even get out message to - UH!

William gets shot in the chest with a round of gunfire. Jane rummages around in her seat’s side compartment and applies some bandages to the wound and presses down.

Jane: Apply pressure, okay? I’m going out there.

Meenah: Mother glubber…

Jane reaches underneath her chair and pulls out her machine gun fitted with its grenade launcher attachment, and busts open her door. Shots ring out across the road and grassy plain as enemy troops fire from an above ridge. By now, one supply truck is destroyed, the second one’s engine gutted. The jeep’s wheels are shot up, and one of the humvees is covered in bullet holes. The other one, which has Meenah in it, is fine. Jane ducks down behind the jeep next to Corporal Jim and Private Connor.

Jane: Is that an M2 .50 Caliber gun on that jeep!?

Corporal Jim: Yeah, a Browning. But we can’t get at it!

Jane: I can.

Jane creates a bubble of life energy around herself and begins to shoot at the attackers with it. They scream and die. Jane gets lost in the bloodlust and elation for a moment, before dismounting the empty gun.

Jane: Corporal, grab anyone who’s left and meet in Meenah’s humvee!

Corporal Jim: Yes ma’am!

Jane sprints past the bullets and climbs into the car’s cabin next to Meenah.

Jane: Are you applying pressure yet?

Meenah: Quit griping, I have.

Jane: I’d rather you not bleed out.

Meenah: I know, I know.

Corporal Jim takes the humvee’s gun position on the top, and nobody else makes it. Jane presses down on the accelerator, pushing past the wreckage and driving faster. Following them are a van covered in speakers, a regular car with a machine gun on the end of it, a car with spike droppers on the back, as well as a spike shooter, a car with and exposed engine and small cab with a machine gun on top, a car with spears sticking forwards on it, and a truck with spears on it, as well as bombs for dropping.

The spearcar rides up on the humvee’s right, the spike dropper on the left. Jim can’t get shots at them, and Jane soon hears gunshots and him yelling, before blood drips down from his perch. Jane fires a grenade out the right side window from her launcher, and the car flips and smashes on the ground. The one with the spike dropper gets in front of the humvee, with the small cab vehicle taking its place on the humvee’s right and the truck on the left. Spikes fall, and Jane pushes the humvee right to avoid them, bumping the small cabbed car off of the road. The left tires of the humvee get relatively torn, and the truck on its left smacks into it and sends it off the road too, heading in the same direction as small cab, which is now shooting at them.

Jane: Shit, shit, shit…

Jane shoots back the best she can, killing the driver and causing the car to not evade a large rock, which it slams into with a  _ thud _ . 2 down, 4 to go. Spike dropper gets behind the humvee, bomb truck gets in front. Left and right are occupied by machine gun car and speaker van, which is blasting music. The bomb truck drops a bomb, and Jane slams on the brakes. Spike dropper car slams into the back of the humvee and its engine fizzes. The cars pass, and the bomb blows up ahead. Jane begins to drive off, but still towards the city of Wrath and Angels.

Soon, they can see the city on the horizon, their pursuers given up, when Jane notices a figure on the road. Holding an RPG. They hold it up, muttering something to themselves. They fire the weapon, and the rocket arcs through the air, blowing up underneath the car, which flips upside down. Jane is bumped around the vehicle cabin as the car skids. When it stops, Jane feels for injuries. She has a large gash above her right eye. She glances at Meenah, who is moaning.

Meenah: my arm…

Jane glances at Meenah’s left arm, which is bending the wrong way. Jane grabs Meenah and hauls both of them out of the car. Jane keeps her machine gun at the ready. She hears a  _ clang _ as the person drops the launcher.

Meenah: this reely isn’t how I imagined this day would go.

Jane: Just hang on Meenah.

Jane drags her behind the humvee, and peeks around the upturned car. The person, who she now notices to be a man, shoots at her, and bullets bounce off of the metal. She ducks down again, and fires her grenade launcher attachment. It explodes, but the person is still alive. They circle around and shoot at Jane. Bullets echo through the air, and she feels them. A spike of pain in her right shin. A spot of red on her abdomen. A nick of metal on her left shoulder. She can’t control what happens. She falls. And the man raises the gun and points it at Meenah.

Jane watches as the man pumps round after round into Meenah’s chest. Meenah screams, and Jane screams, and pulls out her trump card. She draws her Skaia Fork, a red trident with a ball of energy at the end, representing the mythical planet of Skaia. She stabs into the man’s chest, and the three points puncture his left lung, heart, and liver. He screams, and Jane pushes the trident deeper. The man drops, and she pulls out the weapon. She checks Meenah, who is most definitely dead. She knows now that she will lose her ability to resurrect Meenah forever. Her resurrection powers only work on each person once. She holds out her hands, which flash cyan with light. The light envelops Meenah’s corpse, and she raises into the air. One by one, the bullets slip out of Meenah and land on the road with  _ ping _ s. The troll’s eyes flutter open.

Meenah: did I just get shot to death?

Jane chuckles.

Jane: Yes, but you’re alive now.

Meenah: Tank you.

Jane: You’re welcome. I’ll radio in our predicament.

Jane and Meenah leave behind the humvee and walk the rest of the way towards the city of Wrath and Angels. They soon continue with their business as though nothing has occurred. Yet Jane knows that Meenah now only has one life. She will have to be extra careful.


	15. Converge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another complicated fight. Act 1 has several of these.  
Thankfully for all of us, this is the end of Act 1.

ACT 1

Rufioh didn’t mean to do it. That’s what he tells everybody, and everybody (Thankfully) believes him. He was with Aradia in the Land of Sand and Zephyr. She was communing with ghosts, like she usually did. The pair were chatting about various things, when they were attacked by some wild lusus beast. Rufioh and Aradia fought hard, and towards the end of the fight, Rufioh threw a lance. The beast dodged, and Aradia was hit in the abdomen. He flew her to safety using his wings but could not reverse the damage. She died. She lived on as a ghost in a robot that a builder created, but it wasn’t the same. Her sister, Damara, lost it. Aradia’s death, permanent or otherwise, drove her mad, or at least accelerated her insanity. One day, when Rufioh and his son Tavros were testing out their wings, which Tavros had just gotten. Damara fired a burst of magic at Tavros as he flew. He was silhouetted against the sun, and people for miles around saw his wings shred and burn, and the boy fell. He fell 100 metres, and everything below his legs were paralyzed. Tavros was distraught, and would often take to speaking to friends and Flarping to the best of his ability to pass the time. Rufioh and Tavros were both part of John’s rebellions, and now they are travelling to the Land of Wind and Shade to try and meet up with John, Rufioh’s moirail. They’ve travelled far to find him, but they will find him. They’ll have to avoid Equius Zahhak as well. (Rufioh swears his cousin Horuss was flirting with him when Equius made Tavros metal legs). And he’s not sure, but he thinks Aradia may be tailing them. And if she is, that means she’s tailing Damara, the real threat.

Elsewhere, a troll watches John, Kanaya, and the Lalondes from the shadows. He tells his boss over a radio what the current situational status is. Elsewhere still, a Bard pulls his knife from the preacher’s chest, receiving the message from his lower down as the knight cuts him across the face. He smiles as he lies on the ground, the preacher and knight limping away. The pieces are falling into place. Soon it shall begin. For now though, Gamzee Makara will wait.

John wakes up, his back sore from sleeping on a rough bed. He gets new clothes on, silently eats breakfast with Rose, Roxy, and Kanaya, then prepares to head out. Now, he notices the troll. Watching him from a distance. Black tanktop, grey shorts, a golden necklace, and horns painted with white and black streaks. He knows a spy when he sees one. He runs over and grabs the troll, pinning him to the wall.

John: Who the hell are you, and why are you spying on us?

Karako: Honk! Honk! Honk.

The troll vibrates a bit, his eyes vaguely red. John can understand that this troll is apparently named Karako, and he’s just curious. Why he can understand the honks is a mystery.

John: Bullshit. I know that look.

Karako’s eyes get redder.

Karako: Honk. Honk!

Karako is saying that he’s getting angry.

John: Oh, please. What could that do?

Karako’s eyes turn red, and he draws two serrated knives from his waistband. He growls and leaps at John, and tackles him.

John: HOLY JESUS!

Karako brings down the knives towards John, and Egbert dodges one and catches Karako’s other arm and scrambles away from him. He draws Fear No Anvil, the death machine hammer, and prepares to hit the troll with it, when he hears a familiar voice.

Equius: D--> John Egbert! Good day!

John turns to his right and looks down the street to see the very not dead Equius Zahhak, accompanied by some girl with a skull head, lime green eyes, green skin, and lime green swirls on her cheeks. Equius raises a knife and throws it towards John, even as the girl attempts to stop him from doing so. The knife arcs through the air towards him, and John realizes that everything is about to get alarmingly chaotic.

A gust of wind suddenly twists the knife’s course, and it sticks into the house’s wall near John’s head. He turns to look where the wind came from, as he knows that wind was isolated and is likely to be magic. Then he sees a familiar face: A troll with ox horns, dyed red hair, with a red shirt with bones attached to it in rows, and black pants. Rufioh.

Rufioh: hey john! <>

John: Rufioh? <>

Equius: D--> Rufioh?

Rufioh: Equ1us?

Karako: HONK!

John kicks Karako over, and Rufioh blasts Equius back with wind. Rose and Roxy step out of the house and have a look at the scene.

Calliope: roxy?

Roxy: Callie?

Rose: Equius!

Rose raises two wands and begins to shoot energy beams at Equius, who blocks them with bursts of darkness. Roxy in turn raises her arms and begins to suck up the darkness, but Equius creates more.

Roxy: This is bad.

Rose: Why? We can beat this guy’s defenses.

Roxy: That’s not it. Equius is the only willing convert to the Horrorterrors.

Rose: What?

Equius fires a burst of darkness and knocks the two into the wall. Karako takes advantage of John’s surprise and tackles him. Rufioh in turn knocks Karako off of John, and Equius attempts to fire a burst of darkness at him, but Calliope punches him in the face. Kanaya emerges from the house, sees Equius, and grits her teeth. She draws her chainsaw and charges the troll. He punches Calliope to the ground, then cracks his knuckles. He catches the metal base of the chainsaw and pulls it out of Kanaya’s hands, swiping at her with it when he manages to properly hold it. Rufioh knocks Equius over with a burst of wind, before a blast of energy sends him reeling through the air. A woman wearing a red dress with curly horns and wielding two wands.

Damara: 死ぬ!

Rufioh falls to the ground.

Rufioh: oh for… god’s sake…

Damara continues to blast him with energy, shooting him off into the mushroom forests. Damara follows him, and both of them exit the battlefield. Rose and Roxy shoot magic together and fire a blast of dark filled with light, hitting Equius as he gets him up, slamming him into the rocks. Karako gets up, and in his mad rage, stabs Rose in the arm. Kanaya begins to punch Equius while he’s down. Calliope runs to the aid of Rose and Roxy, drawing a wand and magicking Pierot in the face. Rose punches Karako back, and Calliope shoves him over. Roxy runs towards Equius, but he kicks Kanaya off of him and into her. John throws Fear No Anvil at Equius, but he kicks it in the handle, and it hits Roxy and Kanaya on the ground, causing both of them to stop in time. Equius grabs the hammer, and swings it at John. He ducks, and the hammer hits Rose. She freezes in time too. Karako stabs Calliope, and she pulls out a pistol and shoots him in the arm. John grabs his hammer, and turns back to Equius and is punched in the face. He drops the hammer and falls to the ground, and as Calliope turns to Equius, she fires her pistol and hits him in the arm. He knocks her out with a right hook. Karako stabs him in the left leg with both of his knives.

Karako: HONK!

Equius: D --> Jegus, get off me!

Equius kicks the troll and knocks him out. John gets up and swings at the troll with Fear No Anvil, which Equius grabs and hits him with. John freezes in time. Equius circles around to kill him from behind, and is blasted with more void. He turns to see Roxy and Kanaya combining their powers to create a miniature black hole, which begins to suck up things as they send it toward Equius. He laughs and extends his arms, catching it in his hands. Then it begins to get sucked into them. He inhales, exhales, opens his mouth, and fires darkness back at Roxy and Kanaya. Kanaya is knocked over, and Roxy holds up her arms, trying and gradually failing to hold back the void power. Then a blast of light hits Equius, and he turns to see Rose with her wand. As he raises his arm to punch her, Rufioh smashes back through the mushroom woods, and slams into Equius. They both fall in a heap, and Damara follows after Rufioh, shooting energy into both of them. Then there’s a yell.

Tavros: rUFIOH!

The troll has a black shirt, and the same ox horns as Rufioh. John remembers Tavros, Rufioh’s son. And he also has metal legs. Damara turns to Tavros, and blasts him away with energy. The split second opening of her defenses allows Equius to blast her away with dark magic. Rufioh grabs him around the throat, and he blasts the bounty hunter to the ground. Rufioh pulls out a lance and shoves it into Equius’ chest. Equius can feel his blood slipping out of him, his wounds ripping open. He hits Rufioh with a mass of darkness and they both fall to the ground. He hears the Horrorterrors speaking into his mind as he quietly bleeds and groans.

**S̶͉͔̙̈́͋̓̄̈́̎̽̎͆̎̉̏u̷̢̢̢̨̢̘̺̫̱̟̦̎͌̎̉̆b̸̠̩͊̈́͗͐͌̿̒̃m̶̢͇̯̫̖̭͖͔͚̋̂̏̍̋͛͌̇͐͊͠͠ĩ̷̢̨̨̳̙͔͚͍͒̈̓ţ̴̢̡̗̩̫͔͕̗̗͉̻̣̗͋ͅ.**

And Equius submits. His skin goes a dark black. Darkness envelops him. Equius Zahhak has gone grimdark, completely off the deep end in every way. Equius Zahhak is no more.

Now there is only  **V O I D .**

And now Rufioh can see that there is no way to beat Equius. So he examines who else is in the location. Karako, John, and Tavros are knocked out. Rose, Roxy, Kanaya, and Calliope are conscious. Aradia and Damara are out in the forest. He gathers his strength of breath, and pulls them together. He can’t stop his foe, but he’ll save those he can. And he knows that the Land of Wind and Shade is about to get into a bad state.

He creates a bubble of air, bringing everyone into it. He throws the bubble to the south, and then attempts to hold back Equius’ attacks. The bubble flies far, far, across the land. Rufioh can’t hold back the energy. It’s eating him. He screams as he can’t hold it back. Then he’s gone.

In the bubble, people bounce around. Karako, John, Rose, Roxy, Aradiabot, Tavros, Kanaya, Damara, Calliope. It cracks. Tavros’ heart skips a beat. Rufioh is gone. And now the bubble is cracking. Damara launches a blast of energy at Tavros, and his side of the bubble tears off, and both sides mend themselves and Tavros’ bubble flies away. He’s not the only one in it. Rose and Kanaya join him. It shoots off south. Aradiabot tries to stop Damara, and Damara fires a shot by accident, shredding off another part of the bubble. Aradiabot, Damara, Calliope, and Roxy, all shooting off east. The main bubble, containing Karako and John only now, falls, and slams into the ground in a green, hilly landscape. A blind girl smells and tastes it all.

Terezi: NOT WH4T 1 3XP3CT3D TO F1ND TOD4Y BUT WH4T DO YOU KNOW

Elsewhere, a bubble containing two trolls and a light wielder slams into a street in a suburban neighborhood. A knight sees the whole thing.

Dave: ok, what the hell?

Elsewhere still, the last bubble tears mid air. Aradiabot and Roxy fall through it. The half shreds off and bounces off of a rock in a sea of red, before it slams into a city street. A hopeless man in a place of hope sees the bubble crack, its occupants slip out.

Jake: Good gracious me!

The remnants of the bubble fall and crash into a tent. A seer and knight watch the break.

Karkat: JEGUS!

Kankri: Yeah. Karkat, lets g9. I’m l9sing 6l99d, we need t9 find s9me9ne wh9 can-

Karkat: ON IT.

Now the bubbles of air fade. Elsewhere, security alarms go up, and troops from all kingdoms direct attention to the Land of Wind and Shade, with a massive spike in Void. Meanwhile, John and Karako land in the Land of Thought and Flow, with Terezi as witness. Tavros, Kanaya, and Rose land in the Land of Colours and Mayhem, with Dave as witness. Roxy and Aradia land in the Land of Wrath and Angels, with Jake as witness. Damara and Calliope land in the Land of Tents and Mirth, with Kankri and Karkat as witnesses. And lastly, Gamzee Makara’s smile falters. This was unprecedented. He did not account for this, Caliborn didn’t either.

He grits his teeth. He’s going to go have a little talk with Equius.

END OF ACT 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, end of Act 1!  
Finally, this is where *some* cringe dissipates. I'm pretty sure I get better at writing near the end of Act 2 and it gets less hard to read.


	16. Chapter 16

Breaking news to those two people who bookmarked it and everyone else who gave a shit enough to read this story, I think there are bits about it that suck.  
I know that you fellows might not like what I turn it into, but I'd rather write a story that I enjoy writing that nobody cares about versus writing a story that I hate writing but people like.  
Me > You.  
Sorry.  
I don't know when I'm posting the rewritten stuff, considering I'm working on projects that connect back to this story, so...

See y'all when I see ya.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're wondering who some of these people in the ages are, you'll find out.  
(Eventually)


End file.
